Titans West
by I'm-Ragdoll
Summary: This world is a very dangerous place. With the Titans organizing into towers across the world, another tower is needed. A Western tower at Sylvester City. Five Titans were found, and thus, the team was born. It did not take long however, for trouble to arise to the young tower.
1. (A note from Ratcoon)

_So, umm... Hello there! I'm Ratcoon, great to meet you. Now, if you're reading this, you're most likely just finished watching all five seasons of Teen Titans and you are feeling like crap because there's no more cannon to go through. (Other than the *shutters* Teen Titans go. Which shall now be referred to the cannon that shall not be named.) Well, hopefully I can help with that. What I had in mind is a story for another tower. Yes, I'm sorry, there will be five main character OCs, along with their nemesis-um... Is. So ten total OCs, and a few more. Each Titan will have a chapter dedicated to them being recruited, and yeah, I'll just go from there. Also, I will be highly motivated by your feedback, as I'm a working student, and I need all the motivation I can get, as well as your personal ideas for plot._

 _If you are one of those people who clicked on this story for the promise of Jinx, she comes later. It's like.. Chapter four or something when she shows up._

 _Oh, and don't expect any half baked *shutters* sanic fan fiction romance. I know that you're most likely sad, but I'd hope you're not that sad of a person. I also suggest you get professional help._

 _The first five chapters will consist of the original Titans recruiting Titans West. Then, it is longer, more in depth chapters. For some, I suggest th_ _at you skip to those first. (Of course if they exist at the moment, which as of now they do. But you shouldn't need to skip, unless you are a bit thick and don't like backstory.)_

 _As Tower placement goes, Titans West is located somewhere on the northwest coast. (And for all you northwest people, you really need to stop with your crazy culture.)_

 _This series will also consist of a more.. Real world feel. Drugs, killing, that kinda thing. Maybe even a little bit of swearing. Sorry mom._

 _Another thing, is that there are a few things wrong that I have ironed out later in the story. (Such as the word: Tamaranean. Turns out I've been spelling it wrong for the first while of the tale.)_

 _That's about it for now, I hope that you like my brand of creativity. Please comment with your opinions and plot ideas. Thanks!_

 _-Ratcoon_


	2. Flash Jack

_Gundagai, Australia._

His eyes were fixed and his lips were compressed as the gang of thieves passed by his 'nest.' He was wearing his back bandana which had been quickly soaked in his sweat from the heat of the northern Australian sun. Despite the great heat of the area, he had still refused to shave all the way, resulting in a neatly maintained beard/mustache that connected with the sideburns. His body ached, as the knee pads could only make him so comfortable. The sun was made bearable from his sunglasses, but he was still overheated, as per the usual. He was on the roof of this building far longer than he had intended, resulting in his skin being minorly sunburned and his clothes being wet with sweat. We was dressed lightly, as was commonly worn by the locals here. A white tank top, and a light pair of olive cargo pants. A black belt equipped with specialized bullet clips, and a hatchet holster weighed him down only minorly. A tan strap was across his shoulders, to hold more clips and his rifle. It was a .27 lever action rifle, with a detachable scope and a bipod at the front end. It is modified to fire specialized bullets, such as blunt edges, tranqs, localized EMPs, nets, and several others.

It was about noon when he finally saw what he came for. He spent all day resisting the urge to stop petty purce cutters to find one person. An old nemesis of his. He didn't exactly remember him that well. But it was distinctive enough. It was hard to say exactly what he was after. His attention maybe.

He was a taller man with dark skin. But what was distinctive about him was his outfit. Flash Jack suspected that he had his heritage from the native Aboriginals of his country, but he was dressed like a South African Zulu tribesman. Perhaps he is actually African? It didn't matter. Whatever he was doing today, it needed to end. Flash Jack almost dozed off as the first explosion happened in the building across from him. It was Zulu. No doubt.

Taking a deep breath, he looked through the scope of his gun that had already been loaded with the tranq bullets. This was much like Zulu, to perform needless acts of terrorism to attract his attention. Of course, this requires one of the two to follow the other. And it had just happened. He had to call upon all of his endurance to hold himself at that vantage point. Once he left this building, most likely with what object he yearned to obtain, he needed to be ready to attack. Finally, Zulu came out, his shield now coated in an invisible metal, just stolen. Flash Jack had learned this from the small 'dink' that had resulted in his bullet colliding with Zulu's now metal shield. Figures, he must now assume that his previously primitive equipment is now modern.

Grunting from getting up, he stretched out his legs before kneeling down closer to the edge of the building. His position now revealed, he quickly activated the lever action to prime another tranq. He was about to fire when out of the corner of his eye he saw a flash of green. Receding his head from the scope, he had to do a double take as he saw the other hero disarm Zulu of his spear. Taking about two minutes to rest and watch the scene, he finally ended it with a tranq bullet to Zulu's thigh.

After activating the safety to his firearm, he slings it across his back before jumping off the two level building to land on the ground with a graceful thud. Scratching his beard, he then crosses his arms, folding his black fingerless gloves hands in the fold. At this point, Zulu was already on the ground in his medically induced sleep.

"Aye, 'ello.." He says humbly, studying who is now obviously Robin. Of course, Robin had tried to contact him numerous times, but now is the first time either of them had met.

"Flash Jack?" Robin quickly replied, as he had folded his bō staff. From the tales of the Australian police, he had found out that this teenager was possibly the best teenager marksman in the world.

"Aye..." He said, still unsure of what to say. "I see ya met ma friend Zulu 'ere."

"He was a bit quicker than I first thought." He says as he puts his hands behind him. "I would like to offer you membership as a Titan." He said then.

"Titan?"

"An organization of young heroes. Based off of outposts at key locations. Five Titans to a tower. Gundagai has a sufficient police force. But the tower I would like to assign you to needs your help." Robin said, having rehearsed this conversation several times.

"Well.. Wherever I go Zulu follows, or the other way 'round." Jack said, wiping the sweat that had escaped his bandanna and was now seeping to his eyes under the glasses. "I do suppose you'd know what's best... 'Low me to get my belongings. I'd a'sume you're offering me transport to this... Tower?"

"I Believe the proper term is.. 'Sure as eggs'?" Robin says, calling upon his limited knowledge of Australian culture.

With a small chuckle, Jack quickly replied. "Yes! Sure as eggs!" He says with a lightened expression on his weary face. "If you'd like, we'd run to my home." He says with a small smile. Already turning to the south, he quickly uses his hatchet to climb the very building he was just on.

"I wouldn't have it any other way." Robin responded, climbing the building at about the same speed.

It was about three miles of hopping building to building before the two had boots on the ground. Two miles of kangaroo filled near desert later, they arrived at an almost seemingly abandoned wooden shack. Flash Jack was the first to enter, quickly coming back out with his weapon repair kit, his Didgeridoo, and a minimal amount of clothing. Stuffing the clothes and the kit into his back sack, he quickly dives back in to receive a small box with several sheets of paper displaying his own design for specialized bullets. With his Didgeridoo in his left hand, he couldn't help but feel excited for the sudden and abrupt adventure. Robin had spent this time quickly investigating his home. It was very bare. Only a bed, two tables and a chair. Thinking about it, he'd think that would be the case, as Jack had been working all around Australia. He didn't really have the time to make a permanent home.

"So, I am going to need to tell you that all your bullets need to be non-lethal." Robin said, breaking the silence.

"Ah, sure as eggs!" Flash Jack replied as he handed Robin the box with the bullet schematics. "The most dangerous bullet I 'ave is blunt shot. But I ended up toning down the gunpowder ratio. Now the worse it can cause is a concussion. If you don't believe me, you can look through those."

"I know. I've been watching... Indirectly of course." Robin then replied. "Let's get going. I plan on having you at the tower by noon tomorrow. You and your team members."

"Ah. You 'ave a plane?" Jack replied, not really _thinking_ about how he would now be apart of a team. It didn't really occur to him until now. Well, to him it didn't matter. You point and you shoot. What difference is there?

"Yes, it's at the Gundagai dock. It's also capable of diving, if you wanted to see the barrier reef on the way."

With a small laugh, Jack retorted. "That's on the eastern coast, and I take it that you're a Yank from America. Waste of time if you ask me, I've seen it before."

"It's a fast plane." Robin said as he started the walk to Gundagai.

"Fine. But you're going to have to tell me about the criminals and how to beat all of them." Jack said as he kicked his lips to use his Didgeridoo. "You might want to get a few feet away, I feel like playing."

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _A friendly note from the small creature currently digging through your garbage:_

 _Hey y'all! So, tell me what you think?_

 _..._

 _Really? Is that so? Well, thanks for that. Anyway, go ahead and review what you want. Thanks a lot for reading this far, I hope that you at least got some entertainment from it. Now, for you really smart folk out there, there is a really clever secret in the chapter. Anyway, now that you're reading it twice, please know that I am happy you're interested!_

 _-Your furry dumpster diver, Ratcoon._


	3. Snake Charmer

_Utah wasteland, USA._

"Man, this guy must really hate people.." Beast Boy mumbled as he changed back to the camel. This earth was barren, the last time he saw a living plant was about five hours ago, but now he was walking along sun hardened earth. The Snake Charmer was somewhere here. But he had seen no living thing other than a few Hawks waiting for those animals unfortunate enough to get lost in this endless sea of cruelly empty area. Sure, send Beast Boy to find the Snake Charmer because he will most surely join the Titans because Beast Boy has an affinity with animals. Sure. This sucks. The city was under the watch of Titans East, and now he's spent four weeks, four damn weeks wandering the desert looking for this guy that can control snakes, or whatever.

He was about ready to turn around, maybe he could just tell Robin that he found him and that he said no. Maybe he could get away with it. He hated to lie to him, but sometimes he was just too determined. Did Sylvester City really need a tower this bad? Changing back into his human form, he put his hand over his head to feel for sweat. It was dry, as he was dehydrated. "Man, this Snake Charmer guy better be the best Titan there ever was." He griped as he sat down in the sand to repose. He needed water, maybe if he turned into a mole he could dive underground to at least find moisture. He was about to shift when he saw a rattlesnake to his left. His first obvious instinct was to shout, then scramble away. And that is just what he did.. At first. The rattlesnake followed his motion, as if it was curious of Beast Boy. It was about then that he put two and two together. Standing up, he looked down at the rattlesnake that was now looking up at him.

"Snake Charmer?" He asked with excess hesitation in his voice. He dearly hoped that this was one of his snakes. He only had a few oatmeal bars left, and he would rather die than eat some of the bugs that he had seen. Being a vegan was hard. Especially when it came to these survival situations. The snake seemed to twitch in the slightest way before turning around and slithering towards the Eastern sun. Beast Boy, all through dehydrated, morphed into a coyote to follow the rattlesnake closely. Just over this hill was a multitude of snakes, of all shapes and sizes. Alongside an oasis with the beautiful blue water. Just like what one would see in a desert hallucination in the cartoons that Beast Boy so often watched. At the middle of the small desert landing was a man sitting in a meditative stance. His face was concealed with a black brimmed hat and a black sand mask. Maybe they should've sent Raven.

The first thing he did was change into a greyhound and sprint to the water. After taking multiple greedy gulps of the water, he swam as a goldfish for a while until he saw the water moccasin in the water with him. Quickly turning human, he stepped out of the cool water to face the man. He was heavily clothed in black, and the only bare swath of skin that he saw was the small area between his eyes. Black pants, black poncho, black undershirt, black hat, black sand mask... Yeah, they totally should've sent Raven.

Snake Charmer kept his head down so his hat could block the young man from seeing his green snake like eyes. "I know that you did not travel all the way here just to stumble upon me by accident." He said in a cool calculated voice. The snakes of the area seemed to clump together, as if to watch the conversation between the two.

"Dude! Why would you be all the way out here just to sit here with a bunch of snakes?!" BB said, his vocal cords now lubricated with water, which he used to start his rant. "I've been searching for you for weeks!"

"You have found me stranger. What do you want?" He asks, slowly licking the fangs that are his extended canine teeth. He's capable of delivering venom that way if need be, but he never found a reason to, hopefully he never would.

"I want-... Need you to join the Teen Titans." Beast Boy quickly said, looking around to the gangs of snakes that were encircling him.

"Stranger.. Do you think that someone who had spent almost all their life in the middle of the desert would know what a Teen Titan is?" He asks, still seeing that he had his sharpened tongue. The truth was however, that he knew who they were. He could see through the eyes of his snakes. But he had only heard second hand accounts of who they were, until now, when he had been watching this Teen Titan trek through his desert, his home.

"Ugh..." Beast Boy muttered as he put his hand on his aching head. "Do you want to be apart of a group of heroes that are relied on to fight evil and blah blah blah.." He said, almost ready to sprint back to the small town he had started from.

At this, Snake Charmer raised his head to finally look at Beast boy with his own eyes. At revealing his eyes, Beast Boy almost screamed, as it was unnatural to see a man with snake eyes. "Here, I am comfortable. Here, I shall stay. I am sorry stranger."

"You rather sit here all day in the freaking sun rather than beat bad guys up all day?!" Beast boy quickly retorted. Even though he had planned on coming back fruitless, he wanted a result anyway. "Whatever dude, you could really be helping someone." He said then, having changed his original stance slightly.

"You... I..." Snake Charmer stuttered, dazed at the sudden aggressive attempt to make him leave. "Very well.. I shall go with you." He says, standing up slowly and calmly. "I do apologize, it is my first time standing for two days.." He says as he looks at the now smaller boy. He towered over the green one, being a six feet four inches. Closing his eyes for a moment, all the snakes in his oasis now disband, free to live their lives normally. "I must ask your name."

"I'm Beast Boy. Welcome to the Titans." He says with a crooked smile. "Do you know where Tokipi Town is? I'm a bit lost."

"It's just three miles north. Let us walk." He says as he raises his arm to manifest a smaller snake to fly out from under his sleeve. The snake then hits the ground and slithers a ways forward to scout ahead. "I must confess.. I know who the Titans are. You see, my snakes are my eyes and ears. I am able to watch civilization from where I sat." He says as he adjusts his sand mask to cover his nose further.

Beast Boy, then unaffected by the revelation, as it made no real difference to him, looks to the towering scarecrow like man. "With all that black clothing, how do you not overheat? I am almost dying and it's almost evening."

"Well.. I am not fully human. I wear this clothing to conceal who I am. Have you seen my eyes? I look nothing like a human. I am cold blooded. So I can wear this quite comfortably." He says, taking a moment to flick his forked tongue. "Here, listen." He says, revealing his nature by activating his rattle.

"I don't want to know where that rattle is dude.."

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _And now a friendly message from your second favorite Ratcoon._

 _So, I found a cool way of separating the story from what I'm saying (I have also done this to the last chapter as well. Yay me! I'm learning!), so I guess that's something important enough for me to say. Anyway, by the time I am writing this, three people (one from China. Yowsers!) have seen all two chapters of my little universe. At least it's not zero. That's two members of Titans West down, three more to go._

 _Anyway, what are you up to?_

 _..._

 _Oh, that's pretty cool. I was just wondering if there's an actual former name for that feeling you get after you get done watching an Anime series. Or any series for that matter. I've been feeling that hardcore for like a month now. Just so you know. Anyway, please write me, I have nothing else to look forward to other than Sunday school. Seriously, the people there are very fun people._

 _Anyway, I'm excited to get to the actual all five new Titans meeting eachother part. I have big plans for this series. As far as plot goes, I'm kinda drawing a blank. If only there were people willing to suggest things to me. *cough cough* . Anyway, it will be very entertaining for me to see you make guesses on other characters. Oh! And I'm about to get funky! My Didgeridoo is coming in the mail tommorrow! Oh what great fun! I cannot wait! For my Didgeridoo or your comments!_

 _-Cheers! Ratcoon._


	4. Dawnfire

St. Drake's, Ireland.

Dawnfire sat on the front porch of her cabin reading history from the Ottoman Empire. That's about all she could do. Being Exiled tended to leave that mark. She could not come to live with the Tameranians, and she could not bring herself to make prolonged contact with these humans. Boredom and loneliness was all that she felt, being secluded in this cabin surrounded by at least ten miles of forest. She had her copper red hair in a messy bun, and she was dressed in the same Tameranian cloths she arrived here with. A greenish grey tunic with extended sleeves and an extended bottom. On her hands she wore nothing. As her clan forbid her from doing so. She had the same grayish green color boots that reached up to her knee, thus made her looked dressed like her clan. The clothing provided armor, but her body type provided all the armor she would need. She was six feet four inches, and she weighed in at a muscular 190 pounds.

She yearned for outside contact, but she was hopelessly shy around the humans. She would only go to civilization for books, which she would trade for the firs she would trap for. The contact she had with humans was as brief as she could manage. Although having the copper red hair, having the bright green eyes tended to make people question who she was, since a red haired green eyed Irish Woman was very unheard of. It didn't help that her skin was a ghostly pale tone, also from her clan back on her home planet. Well, Green eyed Irish women are not exactly unheard of, but just very uncommon. This resulted in several of the Irish men inviting her to dates and marriages.

She was somewhat depressed, yes. But she was healthy and well fed. As her powers allowed her to easily trap rabbits and other small animals that are plentiful to her homestead. As she was reading about the downfall of the Ottomans at World War One, she thought again how odd it was for her to learn English. She hardly ever used it, and it seemed like it was pointless if you ignore all the reading she would do for a pastime. She missed her clan dearly, but after what she had done to them, she must accept the deserved exile. Closing her book, she set it gently on the reading table that she had built. Taking a breath of the brisk Irish air, she stood up to walk off her porch to the small clearing in the forest made by her. Raising her arms up, she closes her eyes for a moment to manifest a grayish green square slab in front of her. With her eyes turning the same color, she walks behind the slab, until the slab makes contact with the base of a tree. Doing a little twirl with her hands, she causes the slab to wrap around the tree, and to pull it right out of the ground, stump and all. After laying it down safely, the slab dissipates. She then replaces it by a circular slab, which she uses as a kind of saw blade to cut the tree into chunks. This is what she would do when she was very much bored. She would carve furniture out of freshly cut trees.

She was finished with her third chair when she looked up to see the orange skinned red haired girl. No doubt a Tameranian. With a small gasp, Dawnfire quickly scrambled to her feet and put her arms up defensively. "I am an outcast from the Rakka clan. You have no business in my home!" She says in Tameranian, which feels very strange to speak, as she never needed to speak it for about ten years now.

Starfire hadn't expected the Tameranian that she was looking for to be Rakka. From what she could remember of her planet, the Rakka were a very small and very hard nosed clan. As they had many exiles. What made them notable however, is the contrast between their ability and the ability of the common Tameranian. "I do not wish to harm you Dawnfire. I am Starfire, I have just come to talk."

Talk. Talk. It's been too long before she even thought about talking when it wasn't needed. Waving her hand to the side, she uses smaller slabs to slide the just made chairs to face each other. "Please, sit." She says in her native tongue. "Are you hungry?"

"Yes, very." Starfire responds, taking a seat at the wooden chair. She could see that it was made from Rakka hand, as the edges were smoothed and already sanded. Looking at the larger Tameranian retreat back into the cabin, she calmly sits down in the chair. She put her hand to her head in disgust. On the way here, she had walked into a pub filled with suspicious men. A stranger did offer her a drink, and knowing earthly custom, she accepted. But for her, the rohypnol that had drugged the drink ruined the taste. After thanking the man for the drink, she had made her way here. She's had ale once or twice, but that was the worst ale she had ever had. Maybe people around here liked their drinks that way.

Dawnfire actually had to smile at the situation. A Tameranian came to her wanting to talk and eat, despite being branded as an outcast. After finishing the cooking, she returned outside with two bowls of a very thick stew. "I have made Yranta, but instead of Washka brains, I used rabbit brains. I hope it's fine." She said handing the bowl to Starfire.

"It has been too long since I've had Tameranian food. Whenever I make it, my friends always say they are not hungry. Perhaps that's the effect it has on humans." Starfire happily responds as she takes a greedy gulp of the thick liquid. "Ah! It's amazing!" She says as she takes another Gulp. After quickly finishing the bowl, she, now satisfied, sets the bowl down next to the chair. "I haven't had that good of a Yranta since I've been home!" She says with a large smile on her face.

"Well, I have not seen a Tameranian since I've been home." Dawnfire says, with the slightest tone of gloom in her voice. "Tell me Starfire, what do you want to discuss?"

It did feel equally weird to speak her native tongue for Starfire, as the only other person that she knew of that could speak it is Cyborg. With Blackfire, who is most likely in some sort of prison by now. "I wish to invite you. The power that I know you have can be used to greatly benefit this world. I would know, I've saved this world several times. Along with my fellow Titans."

"Ah, the Teen Titans. I have read about them. You are.. Spreading influence." Dawnfire says with a small smile. "I don't know if I can leave. I've been outcasted to a life of exile and solitude." Holding up her gloveless hands, she keeps her eyes on the ground. "See? I have no gloves."

Starfire, somewhat perplexed, licks the inside of her cheek a little. Maybe she was wrong. The rohypnol had a pleasant aftertaste, almost like brushing your teeth and then drinking the oranged-juice. "I am royalty of Tamaran. As a princess, I can grant you asylum to my clan." Starfire replies smoothly. Taking her gloves off, she gently hands them to Dawnfire. "You are forgiven of your crimes." She says with a bright smile.

Slowly taking the gloves, Dawnfire hesitates before speaking. "You do not know what I have done." She says as she slowly puts the gloves on. She needed to be happy about this, and for the most part she was. She's been forgiven. "I will redeem myself by being apart of the Titans." She says as she stands up from her chair. She didn't really have anything important enough to take with her, so she planned on just flying with Starfire to the destination.

"What did you end up doing?" Starfire asks as she stands up as well. Jumping up to a low hover, she is soon followed by the forgiven Tameranian.

Dawnfire, with a fair bit of hesitation, took a while to reply as the two started to fly west to America. "I am not sure that you would forgive me if I told you." She says slowly.

"You do not seem like the kind of person that would make that big of a mistake twice. Please, tell me." Starfire replied almost instantly.

"Well... I've committed the crime of Ulundi." She says with a small blush. Ulundi was a serious Taboo from their world, and this cases Starfire to gasp slightly as they still flew.

"Our world has no such Taboo. It is just.. Well, frowned upon. Come, Robin wants all the new Titans in the tower by tomorrow afternoon." Starfire says, blushing as well at the crime mentioned. "Let me tell you about the world outside your home. I'm still yet to master the human ways." She says, remembering how long it took for her to learn the simplest of human culture.

"Then let us get started." Dawnfire says as she flies next to her, happy to finally be talking to someone. It was about then that she realized she would be sheltered with humans. "But.. Will the humans like me?" She asks as she slows down just a little.

"They often laugh when I speak wrongly. But they mean no harm to you." Starfire responded after taking Dawnfire's hand. "Do you know where I can buy some rohypnol? I would like some more."

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _I hope you enjoyed this chapter. There's only two more Titans to go before I can cut loose and get some actual conflict. It will be great. I promise. It will most likely not involve Starfire's Rehypnol addiction._

 _I also just realized I should probably say that I don't own anything except my original characters. Well, I do now own a Didjeridoo._

 _Thanks for reading this far!_

 _-Ratcoon._


	5. Rose

_Titans West tower, Sylvester City._

For two weeks now Cyborg has been building the Sylvester City tower. He was not one for decorating, but he was one for practical decorating. State of the art security systems, all hooked up directly (and wirelessly.) to the next Titan coming in. The tower was built on a small strip of naturally hardened ground. Almost tundra in the sense. The city itself was somewhat a mix of everything. Many office buildings, some access to the ocean, a few factories, and it is a center of culture, with several large museums. The city would almost be generic if it were not for the almost perfectly flat land that the city is placed on, which resulted in several sports fields. In a city that has most everything, its center is entertainment. To the back of the tower, is the base of a large forested hill with several kinds of recognized wildlife.

Cyborg had just finished installing the automated repair drones dispenser system when he looked out the window to see the large wooden crate containing the next Titan. He was excited to see this. Apparently the technology here was more advanced than his own body. He almost felt challenged by this claim. After quickly setting the calibration keys, he leaves the tower to investigate the new Titan. The wooden crate was six feet tall, four feet wide, and four feet deep. Using the screwdriver attached to his hand, he unscrews the front panel to reveal the insides. He expected something a little more complex. All he saw was a tanned skin woman in a glass tube, and a small helmet. The helmet was about the size of a small watermelon, and was mainly dark grey with neon blue designs on it. Puzzled, he picked up the helmet, and he studied it closely, well, closer than he originally did. It kind of looked like an alien's head. Two large oval sensory receptors, and a smooth face area. The neon blue designs kind of wrapped around the head, giving a nice tribal effect.

"Um... Hello?" Cyborg asks to the head thing. A few awkward moments pass before the head's eyes light up into the same Neon blue as the designs. A few long beeps pass before the head finally speaks.

"You do not know how boring it is to be shipped." The head says, in a smooth female robotic voice. "My name's Rose. You must be Cyborg." The head says. "My body is quite cold. If you have a spare moment, can you please put me in bed and hook up my IVs?"

Cyborg takes a few moments to think. "Um.. Yeah, I have all that stuff ready. What do I do with your... Um... Head?" He asks as he looks up to the unmoving body being suspended in the tube with some sort of unknown engineering.

"If you could lay it down by some metal that would be very nice." Rose replied with the same mechanical voice. Activating the lower hatch of the head, six metal legs attached with little welders slide out, each with a joint after two inches.

Cyborg, quickly frightened by the sudden manifestation of the legs, almost dropped the head as he tried to find the right thing to say. "Um.. I have some spare sheet metal in the workshop.." He stutters out as the head looks up at him almost hauntingly. "And I'll take care of your body after I take you there." He says as he starts walking back to the tower. "So.. Um... How long have you been in a coma?"

"About three years now." Rose replied. "Oh, do you have a DDFHG power cell? Or like twenty of them? I'm at 78% right now, and I just want to make sure I have some spare power."

"Yeah, that's the same power cell I use. Um... I also have a spare voice modulator. So you Won't really sound like Microsoft Sam's daughter.." Cyborg said, almost regretting what he said immediately. It was an insensitive thing to say. He should know.

Rose, seemingly Undeterred by the comment, takes a moment to think. "I plan on making my own. I'll also need a DDVB battery with a charger. When I make my body, I plan on having a booster back as well as a flame cannon." She says after the small pause.

"I already have that in your room. Two batteries so you can change them out." He replies as he opens the door to the workshop. It one level under the ground, and it was big enough to effectively build a tank. And with a shaft elevator to the surface, it can easily store a tank and deploy it even easier. "Unless you have enough people that can fly, I suggest you consider asking the city for a vehicle." He says as he gently sets the head down next to the scrap sheet metal. He assumed that when Robin chose a leader of this tower, that he would explain how that system worked. How the city would provide grants for food and other items of equipment. Sometimes when the city refused to pay for something, such as building repair or a new vehicle, the tower would get lucky and get a grant from an outside source. Such as when the tower was decimated by a terrorist explosion and the city refused to repair it, but Mr. Wayne from Gotham payed for it and then some. "Do you need anything else?" He asks to the head.

"I would appreciate some scrap electronics." Rose said as she started to crawl upon the sheet metal, already cutting it into five inch by five inch squares. "You know what.. Never mind. I'm just going to build my body. I think this will be enough scrap metal. I see the equipment on the walls, I should be fine. Perhaps when I'm done, we could go find what I need?" She says, activating a hatch at the back of the head that ejected a multitude of specialized parts. A battery port, a small specialized welder, ect.

"Yeah, help yourself to the workshop. It's yours now.." He says as he lays down a Titan communicator next to the scrap metal. "Go ahead and call me if you need anything. I'll be moving your body to your room." He says as he watches in wonder as there is already several stacks of metal. After quickly noting the progress, he wishes to himself that he could watch the whole process. "Have fun." He says as he leaves the room to move Rose's body.

To Cyborg, Rose was clearly something else. He assumed that she designed her systems the same way he did, and this was very impressive to him. His communicator begin to ring as he was nearing the crate. At first, he thought it was Rose. Putting it in his hand, he accepts the call.

"Hey Sparky." Bee starts from the other end.

"Hey Bee. Is something wrong at the tower? I'm kinda busy."

"Well, just the same yahoos Jump always gets. What are you doing?" She pesters, not really caring about Cyborg's activity.

"I'm setting up the Western tower. I'm also helping Rose get settled in." He says as he connects the call to his built in antenna so he could work while he talked.

"Rose? Who in the Hell is Rose?!" She asks aggressively. "You better hope she Ain't prettier than me Sparky!"

Grimacing at the fumble, he paused for a moment before speaking. He didn't know that he meant that much to Bee. "She's a robot!" He says finally. It wasn't a lie, but it was not a full truth either. "Listen. Once I'm done here, I'm going back to the tower. We'll talk then. Okay?" That's the last thing that he said before the connection was abruptly cut.

He snarled a little to himself as he neared the wooden crate. It's been an awkward relationship with Bee, but Cyborg was just too busy to do anything with it. So the relationship between the two had just been those awkward phone calls. He looked up at the tube to see Rose's actual body. It was clear that she had Indian heritage, maybe even middle eastern. She had long black hair that had been kept straight from lack of movement. She was dressed in a pink hospital gown. Her eyes were closed, but Cyborg could guess that they eyes would be dark, maybe even hazel. Turning the lock of the tube, he gently picked Rose's limp body out of the tube, and he carried her back into the tower. She was breathing on her own, but Cyborg had determined that she must of sustained a head injury preventing her from moving. She must also have an implant in her head to connect to her 'head.' Opening the door to the tower, he then carried her to the elevator to get to level three of the tower. Moving to the first door on the right, he laid her down in the bed. Her room had an excess of computers and electronics, as she would be in charge of all the technical systems. After gently pulling the covers over the body, he then put in the IV drips. Closing the refrigerated cabinet containing the IV storage, he makes sure that all the medical systems are set up before he left. He took a quick look at Rose before leaving. Damn Bee has got him all mixed up. He spent about two and a half hours in Flash Jack's room setting up a reloading bench before he heard the elevator moving. Turning behind him, he saw the elevator doors open.

A person who was suspected to find mechanical items arousing would lose control of himself at this sight. And if there were witnesses, Cyborg's friends would see that he is not one of those people. His knack for mechanical and electrical engineering had been scratched as he looked at Rose's mechanical body. The head was now actually a head, and somehow she had managed to turn scrap sheet metal into sleek legs and arms. Cyborg couldn't help but think about how it looks like a slimmed feminine version robocop. With a cooler head of course.

"So? What do you think?" Rose asked as she held up her hand to show off the multi-jointed fingers.

"You did all that in.. Three hours?!" Cyborg stammered as he checked the time on his arm.

"Well, a lot can happen in three hours. May I see my room?" She asks as she turns her mechanical head a little.

"Um.. Yeah sure." He says with a stammer in his voice. He found it really hard to believe that this sleek design could be made in three hours. This technology was far more developed than his. And yes, this troubled him. This really troubled him.

"I'll take that as a 'nice work.'" She says as she uses the life scanners already built into her head to find the room her body was in. Opening the door, she sees the array of electronics. Rose then watched as her body chuckled a little. "Hey, can you please help me improve my body? I'm wanting to put some weapons and tools on it."

Cyborg, tempted to ask her to improve his body, slowly nodded his head. "Please slow down, you're making me feel dumb."

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Oh, hey there. I was just jamming on my Didgeridoo. Thanks again for reading this far, I hope you like it so far. Only one more introduction before we can get to the actual story. I'm excited! What about you?_

 _-Ratcoon the amazing Didgeridoo player._


	6. Rue

_Bright Falls, Canada_.

She sat down by the small stream as she allowed her mind to wander. The air was brisk, yes, and only being dressed in a casual brown dress, along with a pair of generic brown shoes, she shivered in the cool weather. She could of walked back to her little apartment, but the temptation to do wrong deterred her from leaving her isolation. Looking up from the stream, she quietly observes a lone doe traveling to the northern plains to eat.

"Oh and that doe she found that she was missing her fawn,

And she starved herself to death from searching all of dusk and dawn."

At this, the Doe seemed to have a change in posture as it ran west to the hills to search for her imaginary fawn. Rue seemed disappointed at herself for this needless killing of the doe. Her heart beated faster as the doomed doe disappeared over the ridge. Getting warmer from an odd mixture of shame and satisfaction. With the remorse getting the best of her, she looks back to the stream to examine the small frys that will grow up to be salmon. With a sigh, she commands herself to do good to this world.

"These little frys are someday doomed to be caught.

To be caught by a Native family and be wasted not."

She looked down to her somewhat dark hand to cry just a little. She was a Native Alaskan herself, well, half of her anyway. Her skin was mostly fair, and her light brown hair gave the impression of being a young frontier lady. Her calm blue eyes looked already saddened, despite the fact that she had just fed a native family in a year or two. Grumbling to herself, she looked to the clear sky before standing up. This is why she can not be around people. Rue could not help but sing her feelings. This usually results in.. Unfavorable outcomes. She knew that she could wish good upon people, but somehow she could not bring herself to do it. Something to do with her powers. Nothing would happen if her songs did not have a depressing tone to it. Suddenly screaming in anguish, she decides to sing a full song. No effect, but it was relaxing to her. Clearing her mind, she leans up against a tree.

"Hangman, oh hangman slack up your rope, go slack it for a while,

See over yonder my father has come, he's walked for many long miles.

Oh pa, say pa have you brought me any gold, Any gold to pay my fee?

Or have you walked these many long miles to see me on the hanging tree?

No son, no son I ain't brought you no gold, no gold to pay your fee,

But I walked these many long miles to see you on the hanging tree."

Pausing for a moment, she closes her eyes for a moment, to open them again to look to the tree across from here. A young man was pleading with his father while a noose was positioned on the tree. Taking another deep breath, she continued.

"Hangman, oh hangman slack up your rope, go slack it for a while,

See over yonder my mother has come, she's walked for many long miles.

Oh ma, say ma have you brought me any gold, Any gold to pay my fee?

Or have you walked these many long miles to see me on the hanging tree?

No son, no son I ain't brought you no gold, no gold to pay your fee,

But I walked these many long miles to see you on the hanging tree."

Seeing a similar scene with the man's mother, she choked on a sob before continuing, as she often did. As her proper nature damanded.

"Hangman, oh hangman slack up your rope, go slack it for a while,

See over yonder my true love has come, she's walked for many long miles.

Oh love, say love have you brought me any gold, Any gold to pay my fee?

Or have you walked these many long miles to see me on the hanging tree?

Yes love, yes love I brought you some gold, some gold to pay your fee,

And I just came here to bring you home so I can marry thee!"

Taking a moment to watch the final verse, the characters dissipate as she is left with the sound of water flowing. The song helped a little as she had calmed down. Looking behind her, she saw a feminine robed figure. "I see over yonder a-" she gets off before a black swath of magic effectively gagged her.

"Do not be alarmed Rue." Raven says as she keeps her arm up to dispense the magic. "This is just to keep me safe Rue. Calm down, and I'll let you speak." She says calmly.

At first panicking, she sees that this magic user has not formally attacked yet. Calming down, she nods her head as the swath disappears. Taking a moment to breath, she picks her next words with much thought. "You are.. Raven from the Titans?" She asks, not really knowing the last time she spoke normally.

"Yes. It's nice to see you." Raven replied, pausing to appear as low as a threat as she could. "I heard you singing. From when you killed that deer to singing that Jean Ritchie ballad. Your powers may be refined." She says quietly.

"You.. You listened to me for how long?" Rue retorts, almost offended. She would not sing harm to Raven, not for something like this.

"Your power can be used for many great things. I was meant to fight wrongly, as you are." Raven said, hoping to hopefully change her. "I know what you did to the American tourists. You sang them off the cliff." She says, a little more harshly than she would of liked.

Blinded with tears and her rage, she screams in anguish before speaking. "This cold demon from Hell has spar-" she sang until the black magic filled her mouth again. In a blind fury, she swung uselessly at Raven until she collapsed on the ground sobbing.

Raven quickly knelt down to comfort the weeping girl. "Rue. Listen to me. What you have done was wrong. But I come with a chance of redemption." She says as she dissolves the gag in her mouth. "Join us. You will feel better when you have saved more lives that you have taken."

Leaning into Raven, Rue sobs quietly for a while as she composes her words. "What I have done cannot be redeemed." She says, recalling the horrible event that had been mentioned.

"Did I say that I was born into this world just to end it. I have turned on the own Titans on my team to do it." She says calmly. "I had reversed it, and I have forgiven myself since then." She says as she slowly rubs the back of the sobbing girl. "I used to be like you.." She says, now pulling her hood down. "Depressed, somber, lonesome. But then I did something good with my life. I encourage you to do the same." She says smoothly. Waiting for a response from Rue, she is only met with a small nod of her head. "Come on. I'll take you home." She says as she stands up, holding Rue by her hand. "You're going to be with another team. You are going to need to be open with them. I was not open with my team, and they nearly died because of it."

.. **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Wow, that was about as deep as.. Well, I'm really depressed after writing that. And you should be too, you heartless bastard. Well, it's most likely just me because I've written it. Anyway, while you hopefully write what you thought, I will be crying in the show_ er _while playing my 'doo. It sounds really nice by the wa_ y.

- _Yours, Ratcoon._


	7. CH1- Day one

**RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Hey everyone! I'm really excited to bring you my first real chapter! The start is kinda slow, but I am really proud of the last half of it. Enjoy!_

 _..._

"Okay Rose. Try it now." Cyborg said as he threw a wrench into the air. Rose quickly acted and raised her hand to flick a little spike which lodged itself magnetically to the wench. After a small explosion occurred, she, well her real body, laughed at the result. It was almost invisible to the human eye what had just taken place. They were tiny explosive tipped darts, equipped for her left arm, she can hold up to twenty five at a time.

"That is just fine!" Rose said, although if she had invested any work into a voice modulator, it would of showed some excitement. "I think that's about all the upgrades I'll need for now." She says as she curls her right arm to unfold a titanium shield, but would then unfold as she unfolded her arm. "Thanks for the detailing." She said again as she walked to the elevator to get to the main level. She had been fitted with titanium plating at key points on her body, then had been detailed with the same color scheme as her head. Giving the look of a ghost with neon blue stripes. Turning around, she looks at Cyborg before speaking again. "Wait, were you supposed to hook the security system up directly to me?"

"Yeah. I have two chips to put into you. One is the security overlay as well as execution, the other is some sensor modules so you can change your vision. Thermal, chemical, that kinda thing." He says as he carefully walks behind Rose to open the hatch at the back of her head. Sliding both of the chips in, he then closes the hatch. "Is everything good?"

Rose took a moment to learn more about the interface before remotely disarming the security system. Re-arming it, she changed her vision to thermal vision for a while before going back to normal. "Great. Now if you pardon me, I'm going to make a better voice modulator." She said as she remotely caused the elevator door to open for her.

While Rose was tinkering with miscellaneous wires and computer chips to make a voice modulator, Beast Boy and Snake Charmer were just getting off the jet that had just landed in the Sylvester City airport. During the trip, the two discussed past experiences and such. But due to Snakecharmer refusing to reveal his true background, many of the conversations just went back to Beast boy. The sad truth was that Snake Charmer had no real experience on fighting or real human contact. He just watched the outside world as if he was watching television. The entire time he refused to take off his heavy black clothing. Born as a freak he exiled himself to the Utah desert at a young age. Despite never having anyone to talk with, he was cool with his words as he talked with Beast Boy. Hopefully his team would be accommodating to him. However, Beast Boy had detected his shyness, and he could understand, he is green after all.

Snake Charmer had second thoughts. This was expected, as this is the first time in about thirteen years that he had exited his desert. Already he had considered changing his mind, but that would be selfish of him to think his personal preference mattered over the lives he would save. The private jet was nice though, payed for by the taxpayers of Sylvester City. After Beast Boy had explained that to him, He couldn't help but feel fear. If they were willing to pay this much for a tower here, the situation must be somewhat desperate. Although Beast Boy had insisted that Robin had wanted a tower there and the City just happened to be willing and able to pay for it, Snake Charmer still felt skeptical. This tower would be expensive, and although Sylvester City had a high income, it seemed to him like this was an excessive desire for a tower for a city that didn't really need one. Eventually, he figured that it could be for public relations. For a city that has everything, they could just have a Titan Tower because they want to have it just to have it.

After a small walking trip to the tower, Snake Charmer looked to the tower to see a blue cloaked feminine figure walking into his future home followed by a young woman in a brown dress. He looked to Beast boy before stepping forward to enter the tower. Beast Boy was looking through his communicator. "Okay, your room is at minus one level." He said as he led him inside the tower. "The city's offering two grand for you to modify your room if you'd like." He said as he knew the room would be fairly generic, as the other four rooms should be. Snake Charmer looked around the living room that had the kitchen attached as he walked to the elevator after Beast Boy. The room was about the size of the living room just one floor above. There was an elevated bed to the corner, and a shallow ramp leading to the surface with the hatch being just big enough for an average house cat. The room was lit by eight fluorescent light fixtures, and as all the rooms went, there was also a desk with a roller chair. Snake Charmer, who had already taken the hatch for his snakes, lifts up his hands to produce some more snakes from under his sleeves to populate the visibly bare room.

Meanwhile at level three of the tower, Raven was showing Rue to her room. Rue had since grabbed her spare cloths and her violin. Rue's room was compact, with an entire wall being a window to the city. There was a small bed pushed to the side, as well as a dresser next to the walk in closet. The apartment she had back home was much smaller and dirtier than this, as the walls back there weren't even painted. With these walls being painted a clean eggshell white, Rue could not help but smile.

"You can't deny that view." Raven said quietly as she looked out to the mid afternoon city. Most of the high rises were lit up with the office patrons. She hated to imagine the life of those who worked office jobs. To be fair, her life as a hero was almost too exciting at some times. "You have two thousand dollars to improve your room, with more coming. Depending on how well the city likes you and your team. Public relations matter." Raven says as she pulls her hood down.

"What do I do if I don't like my team?" Rue asks as she gently sets her violin case on the dresser. She could guess that as time went on her room would form to her liking. As she slowly introduced her liking to it.

"Be open to them. With enough time you can grow to like anyone. I would know." Raven said as she edged to the door. "After you unpack, Robin wants all the Titans in the living room for.. Orientation." She says with a bored look on your face. We're still waiting for two more Titans. So you have plenty of time." She said with the same bored expression on her face.

"Okay. Okay. I'm just going to admire the view for a while.." She says as she puts her hands behind her back to look at the distant buildings.

"Rue, remember what I had said. Don't sing about the city. It's too dangerous." Raven said. Knowing full well that Rue could be the most dangerous person she had ever met. On this world anyway. Leaving the room, she listens to the door for a while to make sure that she was not singing. Hearing only a slight humming, she then walks to the elevator with the slightest of smiles on her lips.

Dawnfire was the first to see the tower as Starfire closely followed. Turning back to her new friend, she tilted her head a little as she looked to the ground. "Are you sure these humans will accept me?" Dawnfire asks with subtle shyness in her voice.

"Just be kind to the humans. They will eventually accept you. Often my team forgets that I am not human." Starfire says as she giggles a little from the awkward encounters. "Here, allow me to show you your room." She says as she takes Dawnfire's hand and leads her to the tower. Nearly sprinting to from the front door to the elevator, they make it up to the third level, and to the first room on the left.

Dawnfire happily stepped inside her room to look around the grey painted room. The room was of a decent size, with a full sized window to the forested area adding some natural light in the room. A bed to the left of the room, a large closet and dresser to the right, and a small desk with a chair at the near wall next to the door. "It is a little bare.." Dawnfire says as she takes a look to the forest, and then back to Starfire. "Is this how humans like their sleeping rooms?" She asks, still speaking in Tameranian.

"No, but Sylvester City has given you two thousand earth credits to modify your room." Starfire says with a small smile. "And the city will give you more if the human population likes you." She finishes. "Once you settle in, meet us in the front room. You will meet your team soon."

"I look forward to it my friend." Dawnfire says as she walks around her room to investigate it further. "I will be there soon." She says as Starfire leaves the floor to enter the living room.

Robin and Flash Jack were the last to arrive at the tower, as they had the slowest medium of transportation from the farthest point-A. As the small jet lands on top of the tower, the first sound heard to the outside world from the inside of the jet was an excess of laughter. They both jump out of the jet with a continuation in conversation. Flash Jack, eager to settle in, grabs his things and sprints to the elevator that Robin had already opened.

"Yeah, 'en I said to 'er," he starts with a laugh breaking the sentence. "'Now lady you're goin'a steal my bullet imprints.', then I took off 'er coat, an' I shook it a little, an' a taser fell out!" He says finishing his laugh along with with Robin.

Robin, who had been laughing the whole time, starts the elevator after Jack had stepped in. He was holding Jack's didgeridoo for him, as Jack was holding everything else. "Remind me to tell you a funny story about a taser." He says as they travel to the second floor. "Alright, we are a bit late, so just put your stuff down, and go down to the living room." He says as he opens the door to Flash Jack's room. The room was of average size, with a window to the city being the entire wall. A small bed to the left wall, along with a desk with a chair, and a large dresser. On the other wall, was a large, advanced reloading bench, as well as a small closet.

Flash Jack quickly took his glasses off, and he dumped his things down on his bed. He took a moment to admire the reloading bench before grabbing his rifle to make his way to the first floor. Putting it safely on its sling, we waits for Robin to walk into the elevator before activating it to go down. "This time difference is... Kinda slow'n me down.." He says as he puts his glasses back on.

"You'll adjust." Robin replied as he thinks about what he'll say to the new group. "I'll say this down there, but I'm choosing one of you to be a leader soon."

Jack didn't really have a moment to reply as the door opened to the front room. Despite being tired in almost every use of the word, he quickly evaluated the room. A little green kid, a scarecrow looking guy, two robots, a Viking looking lady, some sort of feminine Jedi, the one that Robin had called Starfire, and a small town girl. He already did the math and knew that only four of these people would be living with him. Stepping forward to the kitchen's bar, he sits up on one of the stools next to the Viking lady. Of course, Flash Jack might of been the only one that did not know the original Titans, since the majority of conversations between him and Robin were about Flash Jack's life.

Robin quickly spoke up to the nine. "I wish I could have more time to speak with you all, but we are all very homesick." Robin said, looking to Beast Boy who was now nodding his head. "Rose, Rue, Snake Charmer, Flash Jack, and Dawnfire, you are now Titans west. I will return in about a week to choose one of you to be the leader of the tower. Rose, have you already set up the security and alarm system?"

"Yes." She replies simply as she was standing next to Cyborg.

"You may be called to missions. I expect all of you to work as a team, and train together during the downtime." Robin continues as Flash Jack couldn't help but think how Robin had gotten serious this quickly. Just an hour ago they were exchanging their best Batman impressions. Now he was the all serious drill sergeant. "During the process, all of you are to build a relationship with one another. This is your family now. Embrace it." He said as he looked to the group. "You may call Titans North if the situation is too desperate." He says, knowing that Herald's horn could easily supply backup in a desperate situation. "Or you may call them along with Titans east just to introduce yourselves. You're all Titans now. Welcome to the family." Robin said, tossing a communicator to Flash Jack. With the original Titans handing communicators to their original recruits, the new Titans could not help but feel intimidated by the task. "Now, call us if you need anything. Let's go Titans."

Like an eager teenager waiting for their parents to leave, all of Titans west watches their mentors leave the tower. Dawnfire looks to her left to look at the muscular man sitting next to her. When the door closed, all five Titans looked around at each other for a few minutes. Nobody daring say something in fear of declaring themselves a leader. This psychology is exactly what made both Dawnfire and Flash Jack want to speak. But being unwilling to make enemies this early on, they halted before speaking.

Rue was almost ready to break the silence, despite herself, but she had nothing to say, and she really wouldn't want to if she did. Instead, she crossed her arms and she looked quietly to the ground.

Rose almost asked their names, but by no means did she want to be labeled a leader. She instead spent this time thinking about what the others looked like. We had a man with a rifle, a strong looking woman, a man that looked like stealth was his main focus. Finally, the small woman with the somber eyes. She looked like her main power was not a physical one.

Snake Charmer stayed silent for the same reason as Rose. Instead, he called upon his own comfort, and he manifested two snakes. One from either sleeve. The snakes didn't leave his sleeves, instead they just stayed there, almost cuddling into his arms.

Finally, Flash Jack was the one to take the plunge. "I guess we'c'n start by givin' our names." He says ask clear as his accent would allow. Every head (excluding Snake Charmer's.) snapped up to meet his gaze. He then looked to his right to Viking lady. "I'm Flash Jack, from Gundagai, Australia." He says, expecting Dawnfire to follow.

"Dawnfire, from Tamerand." She says, kicking herself for not taking the initiative. What she knew about Australia is that it was founded from British prisoners. She could only assume that this man was some sort of prisoner himself. "For those of you who don't know, I'm a Tamaranian. A.. Alien as you call it." She says, not willing to go much further. Not now anyway.

Rose was the next to speak. Choosing a smoother voice instead of her original one, she crosses her metal arms. "Rose, from India."

Snake Charmer, still not raising his head, speaks shortly after. "Snake Charmer. From Utah." The truth was that he would eventually have to show his eyes, and his face. He shouldn't of been ashamed at his body, but he still was.

Everyone (Excluding Snake Charmer once again.) looked to Rue who was shyly leaning into the corner of the wall. "I'm Rue. Bright Falls, Canada." She says, feeling as though she had walked in front of a charging elephant. Looking up to her team, she felt much less intimidated with there only being four other people in the room with her.

Dawnfire, not willing to miss this opportunity speaks next. "It's great to meet you all." She says, desperately searching for something to say. Looking to the clock to see that it is just twelve thirty, she looks back to her team. "If everyone is dressed for it, I think we should check out that training room. It's more efficient than us just talking about our powers." She says with a smile.

Rue is the next to speak, as now she actually had something worth saying. "I.. I haven't really used my power for combat.." She says quietly. ".. Just so you know.."

"Me neither.." Snake Charmer quickly responded.

"I did with my last body." Rose said after. Observing everyone else's expressions, she elaborated. "My real body is in my bed, hooked up to IVs and such. I used to have another robotic body back in India, but when the Titans called me here I disassembled myself and sent my body and my.." She says putting her hand to her robotic head. "..Head here."

With everyone now understanding Rose a little more, both Jack and Dawnfire smiled at the team bonding. After some generic small talk, the team then made their way to level six. The training level. Half of it was weight-agility training, the other half was situational training. As the whole team made their way up there, Rose was already setting up the simulation. Of course, whoever wanted to use the simulation could set it up using the control board in the room.

"I've set up a simple five generic opponent simulation." Rose said as she would of smiled at the group.

Flash Jack couldn't help but yawn as he would of said thank you to Rose. "Aye, 'm sorry. I've haven't 'ad any sleep for a while." He said as he quietly took his rifle off its sling.

Rue, hearing this, decided to help him. Taking just a moment to think of a song, she whispers it, just loud enough that everyone can hear.

"The natural need for sleep has enveloped my poor Jack,

But with the best of my ability I will restore his energy back."

Everyone had their eyes on her, even Snake charmer. Flash Jack was speechless as he felt as if he had just woken up from a nap. Everyone seemed to think that Rue would be the healer of some sort. Everyone's gaze seemed to shift to Snake Charmer's eyes, as he quickly looked away. For everyone, it was too much to process. They had a weird snake man on the team, as well as the best folk singer they've ever seen in person. The somewhat crowded elevator opened, and it seemed like everyone rushed to leave. Flash Jack muttered a 'thank you' to Rue as they all stood in the hallway separating the simulation room and the body improvement room. Snake Charmer, deeply embarrassed by the revelation, said nothing as the group stared at each other in a dazed silence.

"Listen up." Flash Jack started to the group. "We're all goin'a find out stuff like this all throughout our relationship. Get used to it." He says somewhat sternly. Looking to Dawnfire who was almost looking at him angrily for taking the leadership opportunity that could've been hers, he sighs. "We all 'ave secrets. And I will not be turned away by yours. And if anyone has a problem with that, I'll call Robin for you 'nd tell 'im that you're out." he says, taking a moment to look at the group expectantly. "I didn't think so." He says as he turns to the door on his left. "Now, if ya wankas' don' mind, grow up and train with me."

While the other three Titans were in a stunned silence, Dawnfire was fuming at Jack. She needed to be a leader, not this bushwacker. She decided to piggyback off of him. "Come on, let's go." She said weakly as the team entered the simulation room.

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So! There it is! That was really fun to write! I hope it was just as fun (if not more.) to read._

 _Anyway, as at least one of you know, I read over the stats of my story like an obsessive parent. I saw that the chapter introducing Rue had gotten a lot of random traffic. And I've found out why._

 _In that chapter, the words 'gagging' and 'gag' were used. So I think that some people with some choice desires in their stories searched for those words._

 _I'm not asking you to do anythin_ g, _I just thought that was funny._

 _-A slightly uncomfortable raccoon. (It has just been made to my attention that I've been spelling it wrong this whole time. Well, we spell it Ratcoon where I'm from, so I will use them both, to please you yanks_.)


	8. CH2- Individual Team Building Activities

Walking into the simulation room, there was a multitude of emotions. Rose was excited. Rue felt like she actually meant something. Snake Charmer felt embarrassed, Flash Jack felt like a leader, and Dawnfire was mad as hell.

Rose was the first to speak about the simulation. "I think it would be best if we all fought something individually. There is a program that and spawn a known villain hologram that would be real in every aspect." She says as she looks through the options. "I have an idea. All five of us face off against a random villain. And we keep going through the cycle until we have someone that has lasted the longest." She says as she sets up the program. "There is an observation booth for everyone to watch from. Flash Jack, you're first up." She said as she was herding everyone to the booth. To Dawnfire, this was a heavy slap to the face.

Flash Jack quickly unloaded his gun. As he would not know what kind of bullet he would need. Pulling his hatchet out, he twirls it a little as he looked at the observation window. "Go ahead." He said as he looked to the area that was now changing to look like some sort of dojo.

"Everything is randomized. Your opponent, and the environment. As it will be for everyone." Rose said as she started the opponent simulation.

Rolling his shoulders, Flash Jack looked as the opponent materialized. Kinda looked like a bald toddler. "Uh.. Rose? Ya sure this guy is a opponent?" He said as he looked at the small boy.

Gizmo smiled at him before turning into his spider form. "What are you doing here you shit brained Ozzie? I think a dingo is eating your baby!" He said as he crawled towards Jack.

Jack's eyes were wide behind his glasses as this spider kid walked towards him. Quickly rolling to the side to avoid the long metallic arms, he knew that he would need a EMP bullet. Swinging his hatchet at one of the legs, he manages to topple him as he rolls behind him. Quickly equipping his rifle, he's able to load an EMP clip before Gizmo can have a chance to turn around. Without even trying, he is able to fire the bullet at his computer backpack. With a few sparks, he toppled over with a thud. Before he had a chance to reboot his system, he is grabbed by the collar by Flash Jack. "You should neva' joke about dingo attacks." He said as the environment and the opponent dissipated as the room went back to its bland appearance.

His team was stunned, both from Jack's performance and the advanced simulation. Rose was spending the whole time trying to work out how the program could even be. Holograms that could actually be physically harmful? That's something that she should definitely ask Cyborg next time they met. "Okay, Dawnfire. You're up next." She said as she typed some orders to the computer.

Relieved that she was at least second, she stepped outside to the simulation room. Passing Flash Jack on the way, she felt like she was hopelessly behind in the race for being team leader. Maybe this was her chance to turn this around. Stepping to the middle of the room, she got into a defensive stance before nodding to the observation booth. The room then changed into a city street, with a blue-green skinned magician at the end of it. Turning towards the man, she lifted her hands to form two grey-green slabs and she slowly stepped forward to Mumbo. A flood of playing cards beat on to the slabs as she kept on marching towards him. With her eyes turning the same grey-green color, she caused the slabs to shoot forward and knock the magician off of his feet. She was about to claim victory until a rabbit flew up and hit her in the face. Grunting from the contact, she gritted her teeth before lifting her hands to form several slabs. Which assemble around Mumbo to make a coffin. Wiping the blood from her nose, she looks up to the booth once again.

After Rose had lost to Overload, Snake Charmer then failed to defeat Cinderblock. Neither Flash Jack nor Dawnfire could blame them for it. Overload quickly drained Rose of her power. (which caused the team to panic and attempt to find the right battery for her, which only took a half hour.) Snake Charmer lasted longer against Cinderblock, but he had no way of winning since a few snakes meant nothing to a giant monster made of stone. Up next was Rue, who had remained silent other than to heal Dawnfire's broken nose. Quietly stepping into the room, she nervously looks around as the room changes to the very living room of this tower. Nervously rubbing her shoulder, she looks around the room for the opponent to appear. Finally, she notices the man at the other end of the room. Killer Moth no doubt. She panics to make a tune as he rushes towards her.

"Oh now I'm goin'a fight th-" she got off before she was quickly knocked off her feet. Silently sobbing on the ground, the simulation quickly ends as Flash Jack is the one to retrieve her. Her head buried in shame, she is picked up by Flash Jack.

"Are ya hurt?" He asks softly as the rest of the team exists the booth. "It's fine. That's why 'dey call it practice." He says as he gently sets her back on the ground.

"You can't blow it like that in an actual mission though.." Dawnfire says softly, not exactly meaning to be that blunt. But meaning to be just as mean. "You could of done more, but you didn't." She says with a scowl on her face. "You're going to get us killed."

"I.. I panicked.." She says as she rubs her head a little.

"My head is floating through a cloud of pain,

But now that pain will resolve itself out of my main."

Feeling better physically, she looks to her team with humiliated tears threatening her eyes. Dawnfire had really gotten to her with her last comments.

"Like ya said. This is ya first time usin' ya power in combat." Jack said as he calmly looked to the group. "That's 'nough for now." He said to the group, only to be challenged by Dawnfire.

"Who made you in charge of that?" Dawnfire said, confrontation in her voice. "I don't recall Robin making you our leader."

Flash Jack, seeing the conflict within the group, attempts to defuse it. "Listen, I didn't say I's the leader. I was just saying that we should get Pizza or something... Maybe some nuts 'n' bolts for Rose." He said, trying to lighten up the situation with a light hearted joke. Looking at Dawnfire who was still looking at him with fire in her eyes, he looks to the other three members. "You three go 'n' shower up. We have some things to talk about.' He said smoothly, looking back to the woman who's eyes were now glowing.

Rue quickly darts out of the room, to be followed by Snake Charmer. Rose however, detects the bad contact. "We'll get pizza soon." She says as she walks out of the room.

Dawnfire waits for the door to close before starting her rant. "You're bad for this team." She says in a cold voice. "I should be the leader, not you." She says, as Flash Jack continues to listen with a lack of emotion on his face. "You shouldn't even be on this team. All you can do is shoot a gun." She said, which seemed to get its desired effect.

"You seem to be the only one 'ere with a problem with me. In fact, you're the only one with a problem. With how you treated Rue.." He says with a frown behind his glasses. He knew that Rue was sensitive, and Dawnfire's bullying would have consequences.

"Neither of you should be on the team." She says with no remorse.

"Well.. 'll tell you what. We could spar right now." Jack said, now getting a little angry. "Winner gets to be leader." He says as he equips his rifle. "Deal?"

Dawnfire didn't say anything as she lifted her hands to manifest a large slab to protect herself from Jack's bullets. But Flash Jack thinking quick, immediately loads a clip of blunt edges, and he fires to the ceiling. With the bullet bouncing off the ceiling And onto Dawnfire's head, she is knocked down to the ground as the slabs dissipates.

"You 'bout done?" Jack says as he is quickly knocked into the wall by a greenish grey slab. The slab then pinned him to the wall. Him being unable to aim his rifle, or move for that matter, he could only watch as Dawnfire got up from the ground rubbing her head.

"I was thinking that you humans would put up more of a fight." She said as she stepped up closer to her helpless teammate. "You will not be the leader of this tower." She says sternly as she floats in the air to look down on Jack.

"You can't either." He said smoothly as he stayed still in the bar pinning him to the wall. "I'd love to just 'ave Robin decide like he said he would." he said as he clicked his heels together to produce a little blunt metal instrument out of his left boot. Kicking up, he then electrocutes Dawnfire, making the bar dissipate. After landing on the ground, he activates the lever action of his gun to prepare for another attack. "Listen up, if you care anything for the good of this city, you-'ill work with us!" He said as he stood over the Tameranian who was looking up at him from the ground. "Rue is valuable to this team! She's the one that's going'a heal that concussion of yours an' this broken rib of mine!"

It was about then that Dawnfire remembered what Starfire had said about being kind. Was this not kind? Her clan's customs would say otherwise. But she could not deny what Jack had said about Rue. Her pride prevented her from apologizing, but she felt like she was in the wrong.

"Listen, this was expected." Jack said slowly. "We weren't expected to get along right away. We jus' need to get along eventually."

Dawnfire was still clutching her head as Jack spoke. "Yes, you are right." She said simply. "I must admit, you are the better fighter, and Rue has potential." She says with a shameful look on her face.

"Tell ya what." Jack says as he runs his hand through his beard. "Slam me into the wall again. That way when I call for Rue to heal us, she'll think 'at we're equal."

"After all that I had just said.. You would do that?" Dawnfire said, her headache getting worse. "Very well. Thank you." She says as she slams Flash Jack into the wall once again.

Flash Jack felt another rib break as he was slammed into the wall. With a grunt, he carefully shot into the air three times before sliding his rifle away from him. Grabbing his communicator, he quickly made a connection with Rue. With her face appearing on the screen, it appeared like she was in the living room with Snake Charmer sitting on the couch behind her.

"Oh, hello Jack!" She says oddly cheerfully. She actually was smiling. It appeared to Jack that she was at least adjusting. But Rue seeing that Flash Jack was battered, her cheerful demeanor quickly faded. "What's wrong?" She asks as she already sprints to the elevator.

"Well, me 'an Dawn had a bit of a spar.. Nobody won.." He said as the pain of having at least two broken ribs began to sink in. "But we'd both really appreciate a song." He said with a weak smile. After he broke the connection, he looked to Dawnfire who was still laying on the ground. "For now on, we're a team." He says sternly to her. He's been hurt before, sometimes even worse than this. Once Zulu had drove his spear halfway through his shoulder. He didn't even remember how he had taken care of it after, but Flash Jack has been battered all of his life.

Dawnfire on the other hand was not used to this kind of pain. Just one bullet to the head and a taser shock and she was on the ground. She was disappointed in herself, yes, but she had also battered Flash Jack quite a bit, even before she took the free hit. All the sudden, being leader seemed to be irrelevant between her relationship with Flash Jack. He was also right about her being the only one with a problem. Rose knew what she was doing for the tower, Snake Charmer didn't really say anything to anyone, Flash Jack was the clear leader, and Rue was one that kept the whole thing together. She was the one driving it apart. She had a hard time being this humbled, so she couldn't help but cry a little as Rue came into the room.

Rue didn't have to get any information about the scene from the two. She saw Flash Jack beaten into a wall, and Dawnfire on the ground crying. Quickly thinking of her song, she stood between the two before singing.

"The body repairs itself over some time,

But with this song my friends will not have to endure that crime."

She opens her eyes to see that both of them are still battered. Looks like one verse is not enough for this injury. "Okay, hold on. Let me keep singing."

"I do not believe this fight had any gain,

But with me there is no need for pain.

I see that my two friends have enveloped themselves in Shame,

But I hope with all my heart that we make our rise to fame."

With the song being finished, both Jack and Dawnfire was released of all pain and injury. Despite this, Dawnfire was still sobbing at her own revelation. Standing up, she wrapped the smaller woman in a hug. "I'm so sorry Rue." She whispers as she quickly travels out of this training room to her bedroom.

Rue seems to understand as she looks up to Flash Jack. Putting her hands in front of her, she feels small being five feet seven in a team where the second smallest person is six foot two. "Snake Charmer wants to speak to you. He says he figured out why this tower is here." She says as she slowly walks out of the room.

"Wait.. Rue?" Jack says calling out to her. "Thanks." He says simply. Rue went to her room as Jack went to the living room. Flash Jack hated having empty clips attached to his belt. But he could easily refill them later, as he had plenty of spare full clips in his room. Taking a quick whiff of his armpit, he could easily tell that he needed a shower. Badly. Deciding to talk with Snake Charmer first, he passed by Rose as she was walking to the main computer core.

It was about then that he thought about the layout of the building. A workshop, storage room, and Snake Charmer's room in the basement. Level negative two of the basement had the main generator as well as an emergency shelter. The kitchen and living room at level one along with a main control room. Level two had Flash Jack's room with the main computer core. Level three had the girl's rooms. Level four had holding cells along with an interrogation room. Level five was empty, so later on the team could build something there. Level six had the training rooms, and level seven was an empty trophy room along with the other half of it being dedicated to evidence. Level eight was where the top part of the T started. Much of it was a jet hangar, enabling a small five person jet to successfully land inside the T. On level nine, the top level, was the entertainment level. A basketball court, a swimming pool, and several other things for the down time, and a small emergency generator. On the roof was a missile interceptor turret along with several other trinkets, such as a patio with a hot tub. Yeah, being a Titan seemed like a pretty good setup.

Snake Charmer was already standing when Flash Jack entered through the elevator door. "Jack, I've been thinking about our job here. I think we need to talk." He said as he turned around to type a few things on the control panel. "We're just here for tourism. There is absolutely no crime problem here." Snake Charmer said, looking back to Jack with no attempt to hide his eyes.

"What do ya mean?" Jack says as he looks up to the monitor to see the statistics of local crime activity.

"I mean that we're here so a nine year old girl can have us at her birthday party." He says with a hint of spite in his voice. "This city has one of the lowest crime problems in America." He says clenching his fists.

Jack seemed to seem a little shaken from the news. "I 'ave a shadow named Zulu. He'll make crime." He says, already knowing that he is somewhere in the world looking for him. "An' if a city looks clean, clean the smaller dirt. We could get Rose to setup the system so we c'n get called to somethin' as small as shoplifting. A bit excessive, but we 'an say we did something."

"We're going to be spending plenty of time sitting on our hands.." Snake Charmer says with a frown. "Half of me hopes this Zulu guy can spark up trouble." He says with a large amount of spite in his voice this time.

.. **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So, this is happening. I'll be on vacation for a while, so if you could send me plot ideas that would be fine and dandy. Thanks._

 _By the way, in my happy little universe there is a Titans North. For more lore on that, I suggest to you a fanfiction much better than this one. It's called 'silently screaming', and it's pretty hardcore._

 _Anyways, I thought I would just say this. If anything I've said in the story offended you..._

 _go cry about it._

 _-Raccoon._


	9. CH3- First impressions of every sort

"Everyone showered?" Rose asked as she slid down the fireman's pole that the team had installed for floor nine through one. It took them two days to do it, but the end result was really nice. At each hallway, next to the bathroom door that each floor has in the same place, there is a hole for the fire pole. At the base of the hole, a color coded radius displaying the floor number. It had been a great investment, since the elevator was pretty heavy traffic.

Rose, not yielding a response, activated the intercom. Speaking through that, her human body smiled before she spoke. "Is everyone showered and geared up? We leave in twenty minutes." She said as she made her way to the front room.

Flash Jack had just finished trimming his brown hair before tying his black bandanna over the now cut brown hair. Putting his sunglasses on, he then started to maintain his facial hair. He felt somewhat indifferent to today's event. A city that's already safe would be made that much safer when it's known that there are five heroes watching over it.

Snake Charmer had hated the idea. Instead of doing hero work like he had expected, he would instead do a press conference. He was already this private with his team, and he would not have much to say to the press, as there was very little to say. He had his cloths off when he had stepped out of his specialized bathroom. By specialized, it was a larger shower and a larger toilet. He looked at his form in the mirror for a while. He looked nothing like a human, as he was pretty much a snake with arms and the tail had been split into two legs. Thankfully his back was as straight as it could be as well. Quickly shedding his old skin, he then manifests a few snakes to fetch his clothes for him. His black and green scaled body shimmered in the artificial lighting as he threw his clothes on. He hoped he wouldn't be hassled to show his body, much less his eyes, but he knew full well that the public would want to see what they were paying for.

Rue and Dawnfire shared the same bathroom as they finished their shower. Their bathroom had two shower baths and two sinks. Rue was putting her dress on as Dawnfire was combing her copper red hair. Already dressed, she could not help but feel excited for the public appearance. She looked into the mirror and she finished styling her hair. It's been four days since Dawnfire had bullied Rue, and since then their relationship bloomed. Rue's power was far from refined, so the team worked out that she would stay behind either Rose or Dawnfire to heal the team, or if she happened to think of a good song help in the fight.

"Oh my lonesome thinking is starting to fade,

Just like the dark hair under my braid." Rue mutters as her hair forms into a neat braid. With a satisfied smile, she starts to brush her teeth along with Dawnfire. After a while, she starts a conversation. "I don't know what the press will ask us.. I don't really have much to say." She says as she finishes brushing her teeth.

"I kinda wish we would do some actual work first." Dawnfire said after thinking for a few moments. "I'm starting to think that Snake Charmer's rant was right about us just being props. As wealthy as this city is, I wonder why crime is so low." She says as she adjusts her tunic.

"Maybe it's because the criminals just don't know the value here." Rue said as she thought for a little while longer. "Maybe they don't dominate Sylvester City because there's no sport in it." She says with a hint of sureness in her voice. "With all the Museums and such, and no one to really guard it, it's just not really fun for the crime community." She says shrugging her shoulders. "Now that we're here, I'm sure that trouble will follow."

They kept on chatting until Rose hurried the Titans to the outside of the tower. None of them suspected what was to come. They were just told that the press would meet them outside of the tower, and this was true. But what caught them off guard was the sheer number of other people there. At least two hundred civilians were directly behind the press as they nearly fought eachother for a better view of the young team. The four (as Snake Charmer kept his head down.) were quickly blinded by the flashing camera lights. As this was the first time the Titans were revealed to the public, this turnout would be explained.

Just like throwing yourself in a pond of freezing water, Snake Charmer thought about abruptly showing his eyes to the crowd. It was a small while before he snapped his head up to reveal his eyes to the crowd. With a sudden gasp, every man, woman, and especially the children went quiet. The five Titans stood side by side as the two groups looked at each other in a cool silence.

The first one to speak was a female reporter with her camera crew behind her. She tried to pretend that Snake Charmer's eyes did not disturb her. As the rest of the crowd did. "Well.. Um.. We're glad to meet you Titans West." She says holding the microphone up to Flash Jack. "Can you all tell us your names?" She says humbly, or at least as humble as a news reporter can be. "And.. Maybe just a little about yourselves?"

Flash Jack, not really having trouble being open, spoke with a smile on his face. "I'm Flash Jack." He says, making no effort to hide his accent, much to the confusion of Dawnfire who had assumed that Flash Jack was a British prisoner. "I'm a sharpshooter, An' I'm from Gundagai, Australia." He said as the microphone moved to Dawnfire who was standing to his right.

"I am Dawnfire, and I am from Tameran. And..." She says as she looks to her left at Flash Jack. "Well, it's pretty weird living with this British prisoner." As most of Sylvester City had a good education, most of the crowd erupted into a crackling laughter. Both Dawnfire and Flash Jack seemed to blush just a little at the comment. Flash Jack was just a little upset about the joke, and Dawnfire was blushing because she didn't understand the joke herself. Another thing to ask Starfire later. The microphone then made its way to Rue as she quietly stood with her hands behind her back.

"Umm.. I'm Rue, and I'm from Canada.." She says as she looks at the crowd who was looking right back at her. With a small sigh, she continues. "They tell me that I'm the healer." She says, hinting the slightest of smiles as she brushed some of her brown hair out of her eyes. The microphone then went to the robotic Rose that was standing taller than the other four.

"Rose, from India." She says in a monotone voice as her form stays completely unmoving. "And yes, I am a living human." She says, her human body laughing in her bed. The microphone then went to Snake Charmer.

Snake Charmer was of course still fuming at the reaction of the people. If he was able to cry, he would of long ago. He stared at the reporter for a long while before speaking. "Snake Charmer. Utah." He said quietly. With the reporter not moving, he felt an excess of awkward rage in his heart. Blinking a few times, he did something brash. With one hand, he tore off his sand mask, and with the other he threw off his hat. The crowd went silent again, and a few of the smaller children started to cry. In an deafening silence, the reporter slowly backed away. The other four Titans quickly turned their head to look at their reptilian friend. In a sheer feeling of embarrassment, he shielded his face with his gloved hands.

Flash Jack was the first to act for the group. As Dawnfire quickly distracted the crowd by demonstrating her powers, Jack quickly made his way to Snake Charmer to comfort him. Quickly putting a hand on his shoulder, he whispers in his ear. "Listen, Aye? They may hate ya now, but afta' we serve the city for a while, they'll like ya." He said softly as Snake Charmer nodded his snake head a little. "An' I've seen uglier 'Roos back in Australia." Of course he had to lie, as to him there is never a more beautiful creature than a kangaroo. They are lively creatures and aught to be admired.

For Snake Charmer, this was quite possibly the worst situation for him to be in. Rue was silently standing where she was, and Rose was currently hopping between Dawnfire's platforms. Both Flash Jack and Snake Charmer hoped for some sort of crime to occur to grant them an exit to this situation. Sadly, no such event arose as the public looked at the heroes like animals in a zoo. Snake Charmer hoped that what Flash Jack said was true, Flash Jack hoped the same thing. Rose was the most concerned for the team, as she knew that all the Titans were in an awkward situation. Rue hummed a tune as she stared absent minded at the crowd of people. Finally Dawnfire just assumed that in standard human culture, that she should go along with this, as it might scare the criminals away.

It was about twenty minutes of poking and prodding from the press before the young team was graced with an incident requiring their assistance. Rose made a buzzing noise as she quickly snapped her head to Flash Jack. Jack was shooting the slabs that Dawnfire was manifesting when he saw the signal. "Dawnfire! Send us 'ere!" He yelled as the rest of the group snapped to attention. Snake Charmer sighed in relief as the grey-green platform formed under his feet, along with three more for his non-flying friends. (Well, Rose can fly, she just prefer not to in the interest of saving battery.) Rose spoke just loud enough for the group to hear the situation. "Looks like HIVE just found out we're here. From what I have in my database, they're just doing this to test us. So try not to use your best trick." Rose said as she looked down to the city. "They're going for a museum robbery, so keep collateral damage to a minimum. These guys should all be recruits with one supervisor, so we should be fine." She said as she quickly saw Rue's confused expression. "HIVE is.. Well to put it simply, the anti-Titans." She says as Dawnfire speeds up towards the direction that Rose is pointing.

Jinx hadn't really planned on being good on the moral compass for long. Kid Flash was heartbroken, as usual for men who attempted to get too close to Jinx. As she was.. Well, bad luck. She was accepted back into HIVE, and she was punished not by starting from the bottom, but by having to babysit a bunch of recruits as HIVE started their operations in Sylvester City. Just as it couldn't get better, a tower was announced to be built the day she got assigned with these incompetent idiots. She had organized them to steal from a museum, and how to attack a basic target, but everything else was impromptu for them. "Hurry up and grab everything you can. These new Titans are waiting for any excuse to prove themselves." She says as she walks down the main show room. She looked down to the four unconscious guards before turning around to her 'class.' "Dream Breaker, they're waking up." She said as a small and frail looking red haired girl stepped away from a display case and ran up to the four waking guards. As the other four young criminals, she was wearing a yellow sweatshirt with a HIVE logo on it, along with a pair of black cargo pants. A little 'encouragement system' that Jinx had 'chosen' to motivate her team with. Once they 'graduated' they could wear their own outfits.

Dream breaker became slightly transparent as she sped to the four near sleeping guards. Slowly fading to the point of not even being noticeable. Closing her eyes, she touches the four. With a quick yelp from all four, they quickly remain silent as they go into a deeper sleep. Becoming solid again, she takes a quick look at Jinx as she sprints back to the showroom. "I shouldn't of had to tell you to do that Dream Breaker." She said with a frown as she turned her gaze to Kodiak. Probably the most intimidating of the bunch, he was a built man, only being bested by Mammoth. He clearly had Native Alaskan roots as his skin was slightly tanned. The smaller man next to him was the quietest of them all. He had an eerie appearance to him, as all of his joints were loose and he stood like a slacked puppet. He had short blonde hair and what seemed like permanently glaring dark blue eyes as well. He was grabbing a handful of jewels when a splotch of orange hit him in the back of the head, knocking his weak body to the ground. Palate gasped as he saw he had knocked his teammate to the ground. "Erm.. Sorry.." She muttered as he drew some more color from the walls to assist him in his robbery. He was a taller woman with short blond hair and blue eyes. The area she had affected was a stark black and white version of the original. The coloration would return to normal as the color she mended had been used. Such as the tone of orange she had used to knock Oliver down by mistake, the orange coloration had slowly returned to the walls.

Berserker Laughed heartedly at the scene as he used one of his hatchets to break open a display case containing an old Norse helmet that had caught his eye. He had long dark blond hair and a heavy beard. "Jinx, when can we wear our own cloths? This sweatshirt is useless as armor." He said loudly as he put the Norse helmet on, which turned to dust with a quick sparkle of purple-pink.

"You don't need armor you idiot. You should never be hit." She said bitterly as she watched the metal dust gather at his feet. "We're all three minutes behind schedule... AND COUNTING!" She screamed slamming her foot down with a loud thud. Dream Breaker flinched, Kodiak didn't care, Oliver quickly jumped to the balcony of the museum and latched to the wall. Shifting color, he quickly hid himself from Jinx. Palate lost her focus and had her color all disappear back into the walls. Berserker who was looking down at the dust, jumped from being startled as he dropped his hatchet. "Any second now, Titans West is going to show up and show all of you why you don't have outfits yet." She says as she looks up to see a green-grey bar slam through the roof. "It's up to you now. I am not helping you." Jinx says as she backs off to the lobby to watch the fight.

Dawnfire quickly lowered the four Titans to the ground before slamming on the ground next to Rue. "I'm pretty sure it's display only." Flash Jack said with a chuckle as he loads a clip of blunt edge bullets. "Titans, get goin'!" He yelled as he activated the lever action of his rifle.

As all five of the HIVE recruits stood still in panic, Jinx nearly bashed her head on the wall as she screamed at the recruits. "GET THEM!" She howled as Kodiak turned into his beast form. Basicly a bear that is about three times larger than a regular bear, he let out a nightly roar as he rose to his hind legs. Dream Breaker then went transparent as she prepared to use her powers. Oliver fell down from his position to land right next to Palate as she drew the color from the walls once again. Berserker drew both of his hatchets, and with a mighty war cry, he charged directly at Rose.

But Berserker's charge was cut short by a blunt bullet to the head, rendering him unconscious. Kodiak charged to Snake Charmer, and he took two more blunt bullets with no hindrance before head butting him into the opposite wall. He was about to charge at Dawnfire when he felt the burning on the edge of his lips. Rolling his tongue over the area, he felt the two holes that had been put there by Snake Charmer's bite. Getting slightly dizzy, he's able to make three steps to Dawnfire before turning to human form and collapsing in a deep sleep. Dream Breaker the went transparent and entered Kodiak's body. With his body rising again, his human form lunges at Rue before being halted by a light fixture that had fallen from one of Rue's songs. From the heavy hit, Dream Breaker leaves his body to awkwardly stand in front of Rue. Dazed from the hit, she looks at the Titan with the similar build to her. She couldn't do much but just stand there as Palate sent a bolt of tan to Dawnfire. Quickly blocking it with a slab, she blocks the bolts of red and brown as well as she marches forward with the slabs. Finally with the front slab shattered, Palate was met with a hard fist to the jaw. Oliver was on Rose's back the entire time, and on a normal person they wouldn't of noticed. But as soon as Rose felt the light body on her back, she quickly bucked, but with Oliver's grip, she could only attempt to slam him on the wall, but this too was useless as he would just crawl to her front. She was struggling with him for a while before activating the jets on her back, sending him flying towards Jinx, who was fuming at the scene. Dream Breaker eventually fell backwards, as this was one of the first times that she had taken over a body.

The five Titans looked at the strange woman in the lobby as they recovered from the fight. Flash Jack stepped forward to confront Jinx. "It'd make it much easier on us if-" He said before a taser bullet in his belt discharged, causing him to lose his ability to move. At this point, Jinx was charging at the group. In another mishap caused by her, the electrical energy from Jack's bullet causes Rose's body to reset, making her useless. Snake Charmer raises his hand to launch a snake at Jinx, but is quickly knocked down by a heavy kick to the head. Still using the momentum of her charge, she delivers a hard fist to Dawnfire's forehead, effectively going unconscious. She smiles a little as she walks to the shivering Rue. Cocking her head to the side, she clamps her hand over Rue's mouth as she begins to speak. "When your friends wake up, make sure to tell them that we plan on moving in this city." She says as she playfully pushes Rue to the ground. Rue could only respond with little squeaks as Jinx takes a handful of jewels and Berserker's hatchets. Leaving the building, she knows it will be child's play to break these incompetent morons out of jail later on. Rue looked around to the carnage. Nine of the fighters were unconscious, up until she finally thought of a song.

"I cannot understand if this is defeat,

But I do think this is not a good way to meet.

May my friends awaken with minimal soreness,

And these HIVE members with prolonged sleepiness."

As the four started to awaken, there were already cameras covering everything. The unconscious bodies of their foes was the main emphasis. Flash Jack, with his hand on his head, looked over to Snake Charmer. "Happy now?"

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Wow that was fun to write. Believe it or not, I have written all of that in just two sittings. You know, vacation has that effect on me. Anyway, please review any ideas, questions, whatever. Each time you don't review, A kangaroo dies, and Flash Jack cries._

- _Raccoon_.


	10. CH4- Rivals

Despite what the media called it, the five Titans considered this encounter a defeat. It was almost no trouble to take on the five HIVE recruits, but the last HIVE member had take them all out swiftly. After returning to the tower, Flash Jack quickly hid into his room to modify his electric bullets. Snake Charmer went to his room as well to use his snakes to attempt to track down Jinx. Rose, upset with the defeat, went to the simulation room to fight with Jinx's hologram. Rue, upset at not even laying a hand on Jinx, was lifting weights in the weight room. But with her small, frail body could only bench press seventy pounds at a time. Dawnfire was in the living room watching the news report on the events that took place today. With the media spouting out every theory on what the five could do. The media made the Titans look like they had won, but the opposite was true. They just beat five recruits, and they were all taken out by just one woman. Despite the bias, it truly looked like a draw to the public. As far as they knew, it was just the Titans and the HIVE recruits, and Jinx was in no way relevant to the robbery. Five HIVE members down, four Titans down. It was as close to a draw as it could be. But with the joy of having heroes in the city, the media spinned it to be a major victory.

Jinx who had already dropped of the jewels and Berserker's hatchets off at the underground outpost, was now on her way to release her 'students' from jail. She was still fuming from the incompetence of her students as she made it to the Sylvester City police station, which was woefully under equipped. Casting a hex at the whole station, she blows down the front wall to already see that they were escaping. Dream Breaker had already sent all the cops to sleep, and Kodiak was working on tearing down the bars of the other cells. She actually had to smile as she looked at all five. "Come on, we have more practice to go through." She said as she turned her direction back to the hideout, expecting the five to follow behind her.

As Flash Jack continued to modify each and every bullet to be less likely to misfire, which was a very painstaking process. It was Dawnfire who had taken the initiative to make dinner for her human friends. She had no clue where to start as she opened the fridge. About an hour later, she had four plates of homemade apple sauce garnished with a side of white vinegar and cloves. Feeling how hungry she already was, she didn't even bother to call for her friends before eating the goop. Of course, to a Tamaranean this would be very fine cuisine. Her spirits lifted by the good meal, she took a plate and she went to the second level to deliver a plate to Flash Jack. Not bothering to knock on the door, it slides open after putting her handprint on it. Flash Jack was still working with his bullets when he heard the door open. He didn't say anything as Dawnfire put the plate on the reloading table.

"Thanks." Flash Jack said as he took a spoonful of the mixed goop. With no complaint, he took another spoonful as he continued working. Nodding quietly, Dawnfire left the room to get another plate for Snake Charmer, whom pretended to like it but then spit it out as soon as Dawnfire left the room. He already had some dead mice that he would consume for later. Dawnfire then brought the last plate for Rue, who was not in her room, but in the weight room still wanting to improve the strength of her body. Dawnfire ended up putting the plate at her door before stepping into the simulation room with intentions of training.

Rose currently occupied the room, and she was actively having hand to hand combat with Jinx. As she detected Dawnfire walking in, she quickly shut off the simulation. "Dawnfire, how can I assist you?" She asked in a passive toned voice.

"No friend, I had just given everyone dinner and I thought I would just say hello." She said calmly as she was somewhat disappointed on the inside. "The media is saying that we had won the fight.. I do not think they know of Jinx." Dawnfire said, as she had already researched HIVE previous to making dinner.

"I think the Police had told the Media to say it was a win." Rose said quickly as she turned her body towards Dawnfire. "We actually have a job to do. We need to be able to beat HIVE out of the city before they beat us out." She said, detecting a look of displeasure on Dawnfire's face. "Jinx is one of the top veterans for HIVE. It would be hard for the central Titans to take them on." She says then.

Not saying anything, and only giving a small nod, Dawnfire returned to the ground level to return to the news. It was then that she saw that the HIVE members had escaped. This news was expected, but far from welcomed. Starfire had told her that human prisons were woefully under equipped, and this fact was amplified by the fact that Tamaranean prisons were heavily guarded and well kept. She was halfway done with making the apple/vinegar/clove mixture when she got the news from the television, but she had quickly flew up the fireman's pole to alert Flash Jack, who had become the unofficial leader of the tower.

Snake Charmer had been sitting in the middle of his room with his legs crossed and his eyes closed. His efforts for tracking down Jinx were in vain until he observed the prison break. It was then that he had used snakes to silently observe the path to the HIVE's hideout. It was later observed that the hideout was reachable via the sewer system. Taking the opportunity to quickly note the location, he commanded the snake to stay outside the entrance until further orders.

Jinx with a little bit of a renewed attitude to her tutoring assignment, sat all five of the recruits in the little classroom that she had hastily put together a week before they had arrived. Basically it was a small room with five chairs and a whiteboard. As all five sat down, Jinx quickly split the whiteboard into five equal sections. "Know... Thy... Enemy.." She said as she put the word 'OZZIE' on the first one, 'ROBOT' on the second, 'SCARECROW' on the third, 'CELT' on the fourth, and finally 'FOLK SINGER' on the last. Dream breaker had sustained the least injuries from the fight, so she sat comfortably in the chair with her legs tucked underneath her. Her red hair was tied in a loose bun as she looked to her right to see Kodiak sitting with his arms folded. To his right was Palate who was sketching something in her notebook. Behind her was Oliver who was nervously sitting quietly in his chair. Finally Berserker was sitting near the back wall of the room with a bag of ice on his head. Capping the black pen, she picked up a blue one as she looked to her 'class.' "Okay, Ozzie, what do we know about him?" She asked as Dream Breaker slowly raised her pale and frail hand.

"He's good with a gun.." She said timidly as Jinx quickly scribbled 'good with gun' on the respective section.

"Anything else?" Jinx said with the slightest hint of annoyance in her voice. After a long silence, she sighed and picked up a red pen to fill in some facts about Flash Jack. 'Apparent Leader.' And 'Specialized bullets.' "Just stay silent, each time I have to write something down is another mile you'll have to run in the treadmill." She said as she looked to her terrified class. "Okay. Robot. Go." She said as she pointed to Oliver's raised hand.

"It has some sort of jet booster on its back." He said as he twitched uncomfortably.

It was after Jinx had filled that in that she realized she didn't really know too much about the robot. She was about ready to put in 'weakness to electricity' when Palate had already said it. After some more thought, she moved on to 'SCARECROW.' Which Kodiak already raised his hand for. "His bite put me to sleep." He said slowly as the poison was still giving him a drowsy effect.

Jinx decided not to torment her class for the moment as she moved on to 'CELT.' Turning around she pointed to Palate who had her hand up. "She can do what I can..." She said as she thought a little more. "Except what she can put up can be taken down by me." She said with a small smile. Watching Jinx scribbling that down, she quickly added to it. "Stronger than she looks. Nearly gave me a concussion." She said, frowning from the snickering from Berzerker, who soon collapsed from the streak of brown that had shattered his chair. He grumbled as his ice pack started to leak cold water into his sweatshirt thanks to a hex from Jinx.

Jinx almost laughed herself as she turned back to the whiteboard. "Okay. What about the folk singer?" She asked as she turned to the five. There was a long pause as she drew the red pen. 'Bends reality through music.' Was what she wrote. After another moment, she wrote: "can be effectively stopped through inhibiting speech." Turning to the five once again, she smirked. "These are the five people that had just kicked your ass up and down the museum. After you run your four miles, meet in the dining room for lunch." She said as she dropped the pen on the ground and walked out of the 'classroom.'

She was a cruel teacher, as she was a cruel villain as well, or at least she tried to be. Looking through the food supply, she took a moment before grabbing an armful of Mac 'n' cheese boxes and bringing them to the kitchen. This hideout was an fallout shelter built during the Cold War, the great part was the compact nature of the hideout, the bad part was the lack of other entrances other than the.. Well, only entrance. Jinx started cooking as she scowled to herself. "With all the money that HIVE has, they can't afford to send better training equipment? Or perhaps build a hideout meant for training villains?" She ranted softly to herself. She just wanted to be angry about something, it didn't really matter what. Half of her wished that she would of stayed with the Titans. Heck, for all she knew, she would of been on the Titans West team, maybe even Titans North. The thought of this made her angrier. Out of all four current towers, Titans West was the newest, and they had just beaten her 'class.' Being apart of Titans North wouldn't of been so bad. Harold and Jericho seemed quiet and non-annoying enough. Hotspot was nice enough when not being talked to, and Kole was annoyingly nice, but she seemed like someone who would not pressure Jinx into a conversation. Argent would of been the only one to have an immediate relationship with, as both of them seemed equally concerned with their appearance... Plus she didn't really have a problem with.. Dark thoughts. If she would of replaced either Kole or Hotspot, she would be in a great spot. Then again, unless she could be the leader of said team, she could not be able to operate.. That or she would not. She was leader of the HIVE5 and she could barely operate then. Once again, being a villain was all she could do.

Caught in deep reflection, she thought about Kid Flash and the Titans for a long time. She was also bored with being an honorary Titan, as most of them were. Maybe if they had assigned her to a tower she could of had something to hold on to, other than that quick idiot that had.. Well, rushed the relationship. A southern tower might of been for her, except that there was no such need, and according to Robin, honorary Titans were in dire need. Or some bullshit like that. She had the memory of the final showdown between the Brotherhood of Evil and the Titans, and how all the villains of the world were frozen. But the prison system of course wanted to handle each and every one of them, despite the very vocal protests of Robin. Resulting in a massive jail break world wide. Even though it was in her favor, Jinx had to admit those humanitarian people were shut the hell up after that. If they would of stayed smart and kept them frozen, she would of had a much better chance at settling down at a tower with Kid Flash, or at least something to the effect.

Her thoughts then shifted to Titans West, particularly Rue and how she had seemed to shudder at Jinx's appearance. Without a doubt, she looked like the timid one of the bunch. At the moment, the five heroes were just a minor annoyance, but Jinx had to make sure that her recruits gained skill as the Titans did. The Robot and the Australian seemed to have the most potential, since neither of them was able to lay a hand on Jinx due to her hex. For all she knew, either one of them could of put up a fight against her. Placing her HIVE communicator on the table, she watched the news report for a while as she continued to cook for the five HIVE members.

Oliver was the first to finish the four mile run, as he has been very used to running his whole life. Silently crawling to the kitchen's roof, he blended in as he watched his mentor. After a while of watching the news report over her shoulder, he quietly drops to the ground with the faintest of thuds. "What are they saying about us?" He asked timidly.

"They said that we lost." She said slowly as she stirred the water. "How are the other four doing?"

"Dream Breaker is doing fine, but Kodiak is saying that he's about to die." He says as he starts to make his way to his room. "Me, I'm just wanting to make it through the class." He said as he crawled up to the air vent to go to his room.

Jinx sighed, now obtaining a bleak attitude. Here she was in charge of a Danish Idiot, a creepy chameleon guy, the artist woman that can barely use her power accurately, a bear guy that is about as sharp as a bag of marbles, and a creepy ginger lady that Jinx is still unsure it is safe to sleep while she is in the proximity. To be honest, she liked Dream Breaker the best out of all. She was the one that can take the whole operation seriously. With another sigh, she turned to the food she was cooking.

Dream Breaker was the second to finish the run. After taking a quick shower, she changed into a duplicate yellow HIVE sweatshirt and a black pair of cargo pants. After letting her wet hair down, she wanders into the kitchen to see her mentor cooking for them. "Hello my teacher." She said softly as she sat on one of the counter tops.

At first Jinx did not reply. But with the minor anger that she was feeling, it would most likely be in her best interest to talk with her favorite student. "How was your run?" She asks, trying her best to sound interested.

The two conversed for a while about the fight as the others finished their runs. All the topics of conversation always went back to Jinx's early career at HIVE. Then how Sylvester City is pretty much empty of activity except for the tower and the HIVE hideout. This talk gave Jinx a surge of optimism. If she could whip these recruits into shape, she could lead them and herself to being in charge of the whole area, not just the city. There wasn't really any competition, other than the petty thief or drug dealer. If it wasn't for the tower, this place was hers.

.. **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Firstly, shout out to the two reviewers (TheFoolOnMelancholyHill and Rosmarie Benson.) , you folk are what keep me waking up in the morning. Now that I have a minor case of.. Well, a job and a case of writer's block, I'll be posting less often. At this time ideas (even half baked ones) are very much needed. I am also drawing the characters, I had just finished Flash Jack's drawing. By no means is it good, but maybe you'll like it. I'm not really planning to show you, as your imagination of my story is what matters, and a visual picture may ruin the effect. The pictures are mainly for me to remember what I want them to look like to you. But if you REALLY REALLY (X40) want to see, message me and I'll show you, depending if it's the time that I actually feel the slightest bit proud of the drawing._

 _Oh, it has also been brought to my attention that this whole time I've been spelling 'Tamaranean' wrong. My apologies._

 _'Anyway, have a awesome day._

- _Raccoon_.


	11. CH5- Pride

The day after the incident, all five of the Titans had humbled themselves enough to meet in the front room. Snake Charmer had his head exposed as he was sitting on the couch next to Rose who had been silently sitting on the couch as well. Flash Jack was preparing some pancakes as Dawnfire sat on the barstool to watch him. With Flash Jack being able to stomach some pretty awful things, the horrid applesauce mixture that she had prepared for him was nothing but nutrition for him. Rue was dressed in a white shirt and a light green pair of pajamas. As she exited the elevator, (as the fireman's pole terrified her. And she had no intention of using it unless she really had to.) she smiled at the promise of pancakes. Yawning, she started to the kitchen where she started a pot of coffee. Humming a sweet little tune, she turned to her team. Everyone was feeling a little less defeated as the fight slowly faded in their memories. They were out matched and outnumbered, but it took six of them to beat the five. That had the slightest hint of encouragement that the team needed.

As Flash Jack flipped some of the pancakes, he turned his head to Rue who was silently offering him a cup of coffee. Happily accepting it, he chuckles as he looks to the rest of the group. "Hey Rue, tell us a story." He said as Dawnfire jumped up to sit on the couch. With some hesitation, Rue then stood in front of it as she cleared her vocal cords. As Flash Jack proceeded to plate four servings of pancakes, Rue proceeded to sing an Irish folk song about a group of men that get their donkey drunk, then entered it into a race. Shortly after the tale was over, and shortly after the laughter from the tale ended. After a light hearted meal, Rose hushed her team as she received something in her communicator.

"Titans North is having some trouble with a missing Titan. We're not really doing much, we could just go there and look around, maybe help keep the peace." She said as Flash Jack and Rue both nodded, while Snake Charmer and Dawnfire stayed indifferent.

Flash Jack was the first to edge to the elevator, so he can grab his gear. "Come on, if Rue went missing I know we would go out to find her." He said as he quickly regretted what he said. To Rue, Flash Jack was almost the father figure that she had always craved. Albeit it's only been a few days since they met, they had bonded in that kind of father daughter kind of way, as Flash Jack had gotten into the habit of being protective of her. Taking a moment to observe the awkward glances, particularly from Rue, he turns around to obtain his rifle. Rue quickly follows to get dressed properly, while Dawnfire quickly stopped them.

"We should all get ready to stay for a while. Bring extra equipment and clothes." Dawnfire said as she stepped to the elevator herself. "We'll set out in an hour. Rose, tell them that we're coming." She says as she flies up the fireman's pole to take a shower.

Flash Jack said nothing to Rue as he stood in the elevator waiting to be let off near his room. He spent the next while preparing additional bullets and thinking about the next process. Luckily, Robin had to push the evaluation date back a week due to his own constraints in schedule. After taking a quick shower, he dressed in a tan tank top, olive cargo pants, and his ammo belts. Rolling his shoulder, he strapped his rifle before making his way down to the ground level. Rose had just left to switch out batteries and grab a few spares. Rue later returned with a spare dress, soon being followed by Snake Charmer who had brought nothing. Lastly, Dawnfire arrived carrying an extra grey-tan outfit that was a gift from Starfire. The spare outfit was similar in almost every aspect to Starfire's except for the color, size, and the content, as it being Rakka clan, it was more conservatively made, as the sleeves made it halfway to her elbow. She was wearing her original tunic as she looked at her team. "It's going to be about a two hour flight." She said as she started walking to the exit door.

"Are we taking the jet?" Rue asked humbly as she looked to Rose, who was the only one that knew how to fly a jet.

"I don't think it's worth the trip. Unless we're going around the world, I'm not using it." Rose said as she started to the door. Flash Jack nodded in agreement while Snake Charmer inside wished he could of been in the jet. It was odd for him, but some part of him wanted to talk with his friends. Despite this, Snake Charmer stayed silent.

After a few days of searching around the collapsed tower, they had learned that the tower had been taken down by a drug lord, or something like it. The whole time that they searched, all five couldn't help but feel inferior to the Titans there. Flash Jack, Rue, and Snake Charmer searched through every warehouse that they could find, while Dawnfire and Rose flew in the air in an effort to find some sort of lead. Dawnfire flew easily and steadily, while Rose was using her jets, but after a while, she agreed to just stand on one of Dawnfire's slabs so she can use chemical vision to find drug residue. After two days, all they found was two small time drug dealers and a digital piracy operation. It was Snake Charmer that had suggested they return to their tower. Then it was Dawnfire who had said that Jericho could of just quit after the tower was destroyed. After an excess of discussion, the team quietly returned to Sylvester city as They all (especially Dawnfire) tucked their tails between their legs.

During the first half of the return trip, nobody said anything as everyone was thinking about their appearance to their peers. It was shameful in some of their eyes that they had left just because they hadn't gotten enough result. Rue attempted to stay positive, as she kept reminding herself about the two drug dealers and the whole video piracy operation. It was Flash Jack who spoke next.

"We still 'ave a job to do at our tower." He said just loud enough for the four to hear as they all sat on one giant slab. "An' I think that the best thing we c'n' do is hold West down while they figure out what has happened." He said to his team, hoping to return home without a sad mood. Snake Charmer took a moment to absorb what he had said. With HIVE setting up in the city, the last thing that Robin would want is two major situations at the same time. Rose didn't really know what to think. It was true that they needed help finding the missing Titan, but the real reason why they went is to meet the other Titans. Subconsciously of course. Rose had previously studied psychology along with engineering before her accident. Rue had taken almost complete comfort in what Jack said, but Dawnfire still had a dent in her pride. She was better than Starfire in her own mind, as the Rakka clan had almost taken over Tamaran several times. But to be dwarfed by these other heroes really humiliated her.

At arriving at the tower, Dawnfire had quickly halted anyone from diving into their rooms. "Come on, let's just do a random search on something. We will be highly regarded if we shut something down. I am sure of it." She says, looking at Flash Jack who was giving her a little bit of a tired look. "Come on, taking on a little drug dealer won't take too long. And it will show them that we're here."

Rose was the next to speak as Dawnfire had been waiting for a response. "I'm thinking that you're just trying to convince yourself that you are strong." She said in an even voice, calling upon her psychology knowledge.

Dawnfire heavily blushed as she knew that it was true. Not saying anything, she looks to her group before leaving the tower. Quickly taking to the air, she flies over the city, almost desperate to prove herself to herself. Rose was right about what she said, and Dawnfire knew it. But whatever she needed to do to rebuild her pride, she would do it. After about an hour of seeing nothing, she lands on top of a hotel to sit down for a while. She ignored the camera flashes as the people from below took pictures of the Titan. She manifested a green-grey orb and she started to throw it between her hands. With a little bit of a grumble, she looked at the people below taking pictures of her as if she was a zoo animal. The pleasant view of the sunset calmed her a little as she later flew to another building in search of something to do. Her communicator started to ring as she was watching the streets as if she was some sort of mobile security camera. Answering it, she saw the face of Flash Jack.

"Hey Dawnfire, I just wanted to make sure you're doun' alright." He said, with the image of Snake Charmer typing something into the main computer in the background. "It is gettin' late. I know HIVE might try something, but we need to stay together." He said shortly after.

"I am fine. I shall return home soon." She said smoothly just before hanging up. Somewhat disappointed in the fact that she had not managed to find a crime to resolve, she closed her eyes for a moment before flying back to the tower. She was tired from her trip, and she needed a long bath and a rest. She had spent most of the time during her personal search for crime thinking about her exile. Was this really redeeming it? She had constantly reminded herself about HIVE's being here, but she still felt like she could be doing more. She was about halfway through the city when she realized how fatigued she had been. Resting on another building, she looked down to the streets as she rested. Putting her hand on her forehead, she finally admitted to herself that she had became connected to her team. Rue was almost a little sister to her, Rose was the older sister, Snake Charmer was a good friend of hers all though they rarely had heart felt moments together. Flash Jack, the convict, was something different. Dawnfire knew now that he was the sure leader, and she appreciated the fact. He had a kind of walk to him that showed some sort of maturity. Not direct maturity, but something different. He seemed weathered in a way, experienced, seasoned almost. Perhaps he did something of that sort to get him sent to Australia. Looking down to the street, she saw something she was looking for. A young woman being grabbed by a bulky man, and then shoved into a van. Quickly jumping off the building, she flew ahead a few blocks to intercept the van. Keeping now bright grey-green eyes on the van's window, she flew straight through the middle of it. Effectively stopping the van, she continues to fly through the van, picking up the woman on the way out. Putting her hand up to break the back doors of the van off, the green rectangular slab broke through the van, and then caught the woman as Dawnfire pushed her out of the van. Turning around to see three men in ski-masks, she ignores the gun that is pointed at her by the passenger. "What? You did not want a woman in the van?" With a smirk, she threw herself out of the van, only to fly above the van. Despite her being tired, she manifested a large rectangular slab to wrap around the van. Lifting the van, she had to grit her teeth as she delivered it to the police station that was currently under renovation. Next time they catch HIVE members, she'll have to make sure to bring them to the actual Police headquarters. Floating over to the station, she rested as she watched the police officers arrest the three would-be rapists. The policemen wanted to ask her what happened, but this did not take place as she flew the rest of the way to the tower. With a yawn, she enters the front door, and she looks at the teammates before her. Rose and Snake Charmer were both in the process of ordering a pizza online while sitting on the bar stools. Rue was quietly sitting next to Flash Jack was sitting on a couch reading a report on HIVE that Robin had just sent to him. Scratching his beard, he only looks up briefly to see that Dawnfire had entered before continuing the reading. Rue was the one to speak to her, as she had already seen the news report on the television.

"Well, you sure made us proud." She said with a smile on her face. "Turns out you busted a whole underground sex operation." She said with a smirk. "Now Jackie is all jealous that you are on TV for that while nobody knows that he's even the leader!" She says with a laugh.

Flash Jack, who was indeed jealous of Dawnfire's catch, didn't look up from the stack of paper he was holding. Just giving a little "humph" as Rue played the recorded news report on Dawnfire's endeavors. With Dawnfire giving a quick yawn, Snake Charmer (whom was now calling the pizza restaurant because Rose refused to help him with the online ordering) then requested their most caffeinated beverage. It was about then that Flash Jack finally had to crack a smile. "Good job Dawn." He said as he put the half read report on the coffee table. "But 'm afraid I 'ave bad news." He said as he stood up. "F'rm what I read, HIVE is like a weed. If we 'low it to grow, we'll have a big problem." He said as Snake Charmer finished the call. "Thanks to Snake Charmer, we know where they are right now. We just need to make sure next time we see 'em, we beat 'em." He said as he watched his team members nod. "Now, Snake Charmer, I swear.. If I see any dead mice on my pizza.."

Palate was in her room painting an image of a bear. She had her black rimmed glasses on, and she was listening to the radio as she hummed along with the music. She frowned when the music switched to news, and she was about to change the station when she heard the news report of what her 'rival' had done. She took a moment to imagine Dawnfire actually picking up a van with her powers. She stayed in a stunned silence for a small time before turning the radio off. She could barely control her powers, while this woman could pick up a freaking truck. Despite Jinx forbidding this, she put a few bobby pins in her short blond hair to leave. She assumed that Jinx was sleeping or something, so she quickly exited the hideout and made it to the surface. She walked South for a while until she saw people looking at her HIVE sweatshirt. She decided it was far enough away from the hideout, so she quickly raised her hands to draw the grey coloration from the sidewalk. Using the basketball sized orb to break the window of a gas station, she morphed it to steal the entire cash register, like a giant hand, while the store clerk was helpless to respond. She drew some red coloration from the brick wall to do the same thing to the nerdy dice shop across the street. Because really? Who needs a twenty sided die unless you're a nerd? With two registers in her control, she quickly returns to the hideout before the police could even respond. As she entered, she was met with Jinx who was standing in front of the hallway.

"So, Oliver tells me that you snuck out." She says with her eyes turning pink to cause both of the registers to abruptly open, and the one from the dice shop to hit her in the back of the head. With her focus broken, the splotches dissipate and the registers drop. "I would say good job, but that was not a job. I did not send you to do that." She says as Palate starts rubbing the back of her head. "We both know that Dawnfire could of been out there." She adds.

Bowing her head in humiliation, she looks to her right to see Oliver on the wall like a gecko. She thought about saying something to him, but she decided against it. Assuming that she should go back to her room, she picked herself up to move there. As soon as Jinx heard the door close, she looked to Oliver. "Did you always snitch on your sister like that?" She asked with a giggle. Which was just replied with a small smile from the blond haired blue eyed climber. "Anyway, help me count this up." She said, kneeling down to count what would end up totaling two hundred seventy four dollars and eighty one cents.

This was Dawnfire's first time consuming a caffeinated beverage, and the results were awkward as they were hilarious. Rose made sure to note that caffeine had an alcohol effect on Tamaraneans. Dawnfire was proceeding to tell Rue how they needed to go to the mall together to get her fashion straightened out when Flash Jack helped himself to another slice of pizza. The group laughed at Dawnfire as she then started crying at Snake Charmer's feet saying that he was the bestest friend she's ever had. Rose almost wanted to record the show, but she assumed that tomorrow morning they must assume this never happened. Rue had spent part of the time looking down to her plain looking dress taking what Dawnfire said to heart.

It was true that Robin hated to have two major situations at the same time, and with Titans North missing a tower and a teammate, he truly hoped that Titans West would be able to handle HIVE. In fact, he was counting on it. The report he had sent to Flash Jack was completely updated, but he had still felt concerned. Of course he rather that Jinx had stayed a Titan, but out of all the HIVE members, Jinx was in the worst spot on the map. In the city with five new Titans. He had sent a message to the honorary Titans to go to Sylvester City to find Jinx... if convenient, as he would not humble himself to declare emergency in Sylvester with what Titans North was dealing with. If the situation in Sylvester was not major now, it would be soon if Titans West does not stop Jinx while she barely has a foothold.

.. **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So, I'm sorry if that chapter was awkwardly slow, but I think it needed to take place. And believe it or not, but everything I put in there happened for a reason._

 _Thanks a lot for reading this far! I check over my stats like an over obsessed soccer mom, so I know when it happens!_

By The way, thank you Tulula-Mate for the review. If you were a car you would be a Honda because you're pretty good.

 _-Raccoon_


	12. CH6- Being ready

The next morning after Dawnfire's experiment with caffeine was a strange one for her. She woke up in her bed dressed in the clothes given to her by Starfire with the blankets on the floor. She had just a little bit of a headache as she stood up to take a quick shower. Looking to the clock, she grumbles a little when she sees that it is half past noon. "What have I done last night?" She asks as she passes Rue in the hallway. She is just met with a small giggle as Rue made her way downstairs to make a meal for the confused alien. Dawnfire of course knew now that caffeine was not for her, and she constantly reminded herself of this as she took the rather pleasant shower. Redressing in Starfire's gift, she quickly brushed her teeth and made her hair in a simple fishtail braid. She was feeling better since she had woken up, and she was thankful for it as she made her way to the living room. She gasped when she saw the couch lodged in the front facing window, her work no doubt. As the repair drones took care of it, she was greeted by the welcome sight of a plate full of scrambled eggs. Only giving a look of thanks to Rue as she sat down to eat, she looked at the half empty bottle of soda at the end of the counter. "How much of the soda did I drink?" She asks with a mouthful of egg.

"You had just one cup. Rose did an analysis of your blood last night, she said that the caffeine did have a heavy alcoholic effect to your body." She said suppressing a giggle. "So, apparently we're going on a shopping trip today to get me some better clothes, Snake Charmer is your best friend, and you are your own father."

Dawnfire couldn't help but blush at what she had said the night previous. "Did Flash Jack say what we were doing today?" She asked as she happily accepted the glass of orange juice.

"If he did, I must of not heard him. Snake Charmer and Rose are working on finding out what HIVE is up to, and I think that Jack's in the weight room as of now." She said as she prepared some toast for herself. "I heard last night that one of the HIVE recruits went on a

little robbing spree just about the time you returned." She said as she turned back to Dawnfire.

"Well, at least we have a job." Dawnfire said as she wondered if this was too much of a situation for them. The two engaged in small talk for a while, but it was never about Rue or Dawnfire, as neither spent too much time talking about themselves.

Rose spent her time researching on the Internet, while Snake Charmer sat by her looking around the HIVE hideout. Well, looking around the outside of it anyway. Finally, Rose had found what she was looking for. "That is a fallout shelter built by the order of president Eisenhower." She said as she looked to the sitting Snake Charmer. "It was built to house twenty five people... Seems like it was just meant for government officials." She says as she sits up from the computer terminal. The thought still remained in her mind, HIVE was a serious issue, and the team was in no way prepared for it.

"So far I'm only seeing one door to the inside. It's sealed.. My snakes can't get in." Snake Charmer replied as he opened his eyes to look at Rose who was now standing up.

"Well, it is a bomb shelter.. It's much easier to keep out snakes than it is to keep out radiation." She said, adding 20% sarcasm to her voice. Another perk of living through a computer. "It was not supported by the government since about 2001, so, they just moved in without anyone noticing.. I wonder how long they've been there." She said, trying to put her own intuition into it. "They don't know that we've found them. We could just storm in the bunker."

"Five against six is bad odds as it is, much less with them having a high ranked HIVE member." He said as he stood up to replace Rose's seat in front of the computer. "We're going to need to be able to fight much better as a team before we can consider that." He said as he looked back to his robotic friend.

"Do you want to practice with me?" She replied shortly after. During her time being here, she had discovered how the virtual training worked. Tens of thousands of small magnetic balls would come from the ceiling hatches and form into the criminal. These balls were capable of changing in color and texture, and with help from the room, they could move as the form would. The balls would also sort of melt to fill in the shell of the entity they were forming. With the whole room being made of the same material, any event that would happen would reflect on the environment. The whole system was very complicated, and Rose still struggled to understand it. Somehow these balls could also change consistency, which would of kept Rose up at night if she was capable of being awake.

The two made their way to level six while they had discussed their opinions on Titans North and Flash Jack's leadership. They eventually agreed that Flash Jack was the one to lead, as Dawnfire had stepped down from trying. Rose could of done it, except that she just really didn't want to. Rose was the first to enter the simulation room, soon followed by Snake Charmer, they started off by fighting a random criminal.

Fighting See-More was easy for them, as Rose easily blocked any projectiles with her shield and Snake Charmer shot a snake that would bite his arm and send him to sleep. Fighting Control Freak was even easier, as all Rose needed to do was send an explosive needle to his remote. As Snake Charmer rested, he looked to the robot with temptation to show his full body. As crazy as it sounded, it was something he thought about doing.. Almost. He already had his head exposed, and for now that was enough. The two said very little to each other as together they trained. It was after fighting Billy Numerous that Snake Charmer had asked Rose to turn the difficulty up so it's exactly like fighting the real thing. With some concern, Rose did increase the difficulty.

"Okay.. Normal difficulty. I'll set us up with Dr. Light.. He's ranked lowest of all the criminals." She said as the training room changed to that of a warehouse. Rose had the feeling that many battles they would have would take place in places like these. As promised, Dr. Light appeared at the end of it. Before either Snake Charmer or Rose could take a step, a quick bolt of hard light quickly split them with a explosion. Snake Charmer reacted after his forward roll with a snake aimed to the criminal's mouth. But the snake is soon dissolved by a sudden flash of hard light that had taken place as Dr. Light's shield. Rose had quickly curled her right arm to form a shield, and she flicked a needle at the man with her left arm. With the needle being almost unnoticeable to the naked eye, it is able to hit Dr. Light on the shoulder, but with only small effect. Rose is soon met with another Ray that had given her barely enough time to raise her shield. Snake Charmer almost forgot this was just a simulation as he lept up to tackle Dr. light. He was able to get within two feet of the man who was currently spending most of his focus saying light puns before he was met with Light's whip. It hit him directly in the face, and he had felt the blinding pain as the electrical current racked through his body. Rose had quickly ended the simulation after she saw Snake Charmer being knocked down. Looking down to her shield, she could see the darkened mark from the light ray, which to her disappointment, would take quite a while to repair.

"We still have much more training to do.." Snake Charmer said as he lay on the ground breathing heavily. It was just one man, and he had a partner. He failed to understand how in the world they could of lost. Especially since Dr. Light was ranked lowest of all villains. He attempted to make himself feel better by thinking that Rose and Snake Charmer were just a bad combo. For all he knew, that's completely true. Maybe it's just because he didn't have enough snakes in the room. Maybe he could of just had a snake sneak up behind him. To be fair, he didn't think that when it was happening, so he still would of lost. He couldn't help but think about his experience with HIVE, and how this fight had proved that they were nowhere near ready.

Rose was minorly upset that she would have to do minor repairs, but she was more concerned about Snake Charmer. She had to admit that this normal difficulty was too much for either of them to handle. She felt like if the whole team would of done it together they would of won. Snake Charmer had been able to get close to him, and if Dr. Light had allowed him to get that close with just two people against him, he would surely be defeated if he was against five, or maybe even three. After a quick talk between the two, Rose sped to the workshop to repair herself and to restock on the needles, and Snake Charmer went into the weight room.

Flash Jack was beating on a punching bag when he had heard Snake Charmer enter the room. Stepping away from the swinging bag, he wipes some sweat from his brow as he acknowledges his friend. Snake Charmer, who had been spying in on the conversation between Dawnfire and Rue, quickly spoke about it. "The girls went to the mall. Apparently we have all gotten our paychecks." He said as he went to the wall to pick up a fifty pound dumbbell. Sitting down at the bench, he starts to do some bicep curls. Over time, Snake Charmer found himself growing loyal to Jack, as he respected him for comforting him when he first revealed his face.

"Did they say how much it was?" Jack said as he walked over to the pull-up bar.

"One thousand dollars." Snake Charmer said with no delay. Already doing four curls, he looks up at Flash Jack who was doing pull-ups. Despite denying it to himself, Flash Jack had to admit that he had already imagined Dawnfire in normal cloths. For some strange reason, the thought of her wearing jeans, a sweatshirt, and Ugg boots stood out to him. Shaking his head, he blocked those thoughts from his head.

"Did Rose go with 'em?" He asked as he dropped to the ground, his arms aching.

"No, I just got done training with her." Snake Charmer said as he started doing curls with his left arm. "We fought this man named Dr. Light for a while on realistic difficulty.." He said, grunting from the fatigue. "We were not even able to put a hand on him. We need to spend more time training."

"Aye." He said as he layed on his back for some sit-ups. "Tm'orrow we're goin'a to hit that simulation room." He said as he started doing his sit-ups. "Sure as eggs."

"Oh, Rose and I also found out that HIVE is living in an abandoned fallout shelter." Snake Charmer said as he looked down to his Australian friend. "I can't send any snakes in because of the doors being too low to the ground." He said as he thought about the HIVE recruits he had seen. "What's your plan for them?"

"Next time 'ey hit, we hit 'em harder." Flash Jack said smoothly. Robin told me that HIVE is like a weed. The longer you let 'em grow, the more they'll be." He said as he took a small moment to rest. "Jump City and Steel City both had a big problem with HIVE, but eventually they figured it out." He added.

"We're not really in a position to sit and wait." Snake Charmer said quietly.

"We're not in a position to attack and get one've us kidnapped, just like Titans North." Flash Jack replied. He constantly thought about what to do, and a frontal assault was his first idea. His second idea was to simply tell the police where they were hiding. But that could spook them to do something more aggressive and deadly. Just then, the tower alarm began to run. The lights turned red, and the siren came active. Rose quickly activated the intercom.

"Silent alarm pushed at the Sylvester City bank. Four armed suspects, three known hostages." She said as she called Rue and Dawnfire to the situation. Snake Charmer and Flash Jack quickly responded by sprinting to the fireman's pole. With Flash Jack quickly grabbing his ammo belt and his rifle on the way, the three Titans quickly sprinted out of the building. Dawnfire and Rue were already at the bank (as they left their purchases at the base of a very large tree in the local park.) , but without the other three, the two quickly decide to pick up the other three before engaging the criminals. It was about seven minutes before all five were at the scene. The policemen were already at the scene, and it appeared as though this was a standoff. Flash Jack was the lead of the group as he was confronted by one of the police officers.

"About time you guys showed up. We got four gunmen inside the bank claiming to have five hostages." The officer said as he looked back to the bank. Flash Jack had worked with worse, but not much worse. Looking to his team, he looked back to the officer.

"Send your boys home." Flash Jack quickly said. Looking to his group, he made a plan. "Okay.. Let me think.." He said as he finalized it. "Okay. Dawnfire, I need you to get me on that building over there." He said pointing to the four story life insurance building in front of the bank. Turning to Snake Charmer, he pauses for a moment. "Get some snakes in there so we c'n understand what's going on, see if ya can't get one of 'em down." After Snake Charmer began working with that, Flash Jack turned to Rose. "See if you can distract them, draw attention to yourself and away from everyone else." With a metallic nod, Jack turned his attention to Rue. "I need you to be ready to heal anyone who would need to be healed. Go." He said as he himself was surprised to feel Dawnfire's hands picking him up. After being delivered to the building, he gave more orders to Dawnfire. "Okay, I need you to go down there and help Rose distract the robbers." With a nod, she sped down to the ground to help with the situation. Flash Jack couldn't help but look down for Rue, who was currently singing to a policeman who had been shot in the shoulder.

The snakes were efficient in making their way into the operation. One criminal was guarding the entrance, two were guarding the three hostages (as two of the claimed five hostages did not exist.) by the vault, and the last one packing money into a large duffel bag. Quickly transmitting the information through the communicators, he waits for orders from Flash Jack. It was about then that he realized how Flash Jack was indeed the leader, and how loyal he had become. He wondered how he could trust him, but he had assumed that Flash Jack had a good plan.

"Okay, Dawnfire, I need ya to quickly nab the guard as I take 'em down." Flash Jack said as he had already attached the scope to his rifle. Loading in a tranq bullet, he sees the little nod from Dawnfire. The shot was made, and as the man collapsed, he was wrapped with a green-grey slab and quickly flung outside the bank. It hardly made a sound, and according to Snake Charmer, the other three did not notice.

Rose was a little disappointed. The entire time that she and Dawnfire stood there, the guard did nothing but look at them, as if one was waiting for the other to speak. She was expecting a little more of a fight. Quickly getting an idea, she runs to the unconscious body that the police were currently transporting to an ambulance. Wrapping her metallic hands around his throat, it almost looks like she is strangling the man. After about thirty seconds of rubbing her hands around the man's neck, she sprints back to the bank's entrance. Dawnfire looked at her with a little bit of a confused look as Rose stepped further to the front door. Flash Jack didn't know what she was doing either, but Snake Charmer did. Using the man's voice, Rose speaks to the other bank robbers. She had 'stolen' his voice by mapping out his vocal cords, a trick that she had developed during her last days at India. "Hey, the cops've left, and it's just us and the kids." She said, mimicking the man's voice almost perfectly. "They're saying that if we let out the hostages they'll leave us alone."

While this was happening, the fourth criminal fell on the stack of money from the snake bite on his leg. The last two were confused for a bit before responding to who they think is their partner. "Tell them that we'll let them go after we get done packing the money." The man said as he looked down at the three quivering hostages.

Rose, somewhat awkwardly turned her head to her teammates and the police, and she relayed the message. Thinking for a moment, she turns back into the bank. "That's fine, but they want to see the hostages to make sure they're okay." She says in the man's voice. The two remaining men discuss the situation between themselves before standing up all three of the hostages and bringing them to the lobby, in clear view of Flash Jack. The two look at eachother confused as they do not see the man they assumed they were talking to. The would-be thief on the left was quickly dropped by a tranq bullet, while the man on the left panicked and fired his P90 blindly at Flash Jack's general direction. A few of the bullets came for Dawnfire, who quickly blocked them with a large green-grey rectangle being manifested with her hands. His gun soon becomes useless as a small explosion ruins the bullet injection system. Quickly looking at his gun, he looks up just in time to see the towering robot kick him into the wall. Seems like those explosive needles are more useful for disabling guns than they were for combat. She would have to equip herself with a few more gadgets to give herself a ranged advantage.

After the police had confirmed all suspects to be down, Dawnfire quickly flew up to the building to retrieve Flash Jack. Snake Charmer, satisfied with his own work, walked over to Rue who was leaning against an ambulance waiting for someone to heal. Rose then walked to the two as she checked her body for wounds.

Flash Jack and Dawnfire both arrived next to Snake Charmer as the five gathered in a little circle. Dawnfire had assumed from the silence that the situation was taken care of. "Is anyone hurt?" Rue asked quietly as she put her hands together in front of her. Flash Jack held up his hand to reveal a little bullet scrape on his thumb. It wasn't anything too serious, so he put his hand down. It shouldn't take more than a week or two to heal naturally. Rue seemed a little saddened by the fact that she was not directly involved, and that showed with her face. But the problem still loomed in all their minds, the fact that they were still not prepared for HIVE. They had just taken down a robbery, and with efficiency. But these were regular criminals. All five seemed to have this thought in their head as they awkwardly talked about the situation.

Dawnfire took the initiative to speak since Flash Jack seemed to have the feeling of being unprepared the most of all the team. "Let us celebrate!" She says, as cheerfully as she can go without wanting to hit herself. "Rue and myself did see a pizza place when we were on our way to the mall. Shall we go?" She asked as the team quietly agreed.

It was only then that they arrived that Flash Jack decided to use his leadership once again. "Listen. I know you're all worried 'bout HIVE. An' I am too." He started as they all sat at the booth in the restaurant. "But we've proven today that we c'n work very well if we have 'nough space." He said, halfway unsure about what he was saying. He had to take a moment to think before continuing. Rue meanwhile seemed to think each word he said did not apply to her, since it was his order to keep her away from the fight. She almost said something to this, and she would of if the other three Titans were not here as well. "We fought smarter. An' that's what we need to do next time Jinx shows up with 'er stupid hairdo." He said as he started searching for more words. "I feel like every one of us had gotten better since they day we first met. 'Nd that means we c'n only get better from 'ere." He said as he gave a soft smile to his team. "Now let's pick our chins up, and remember that we just foiled a robbery!" He said with a bigger smile. Rose and Dawnfire seemed to nod their heads in agreement, while Snake Charmer couldn't stop thinking hypothetically. What if Jinx walked into the pizza restaurant right now? Would they be able to handle her? Rue meanwhile, felt as though she was abandoned, and Flash Jack could feel this. Putting an arm on Rue's shoulder, she almost jumped at the contact. "Ey, you did good as well." He said softly. "That cop still has a arm thanks to you." He said shortly after.

"I couldn't of helped even if I was fighting." She said slowly, keeping her eyes on the table in front of her. She couldn't help but think of what Dawnfire had said early on in their relationship.

"Nonsense." Jack said quickly after. "I'd bet 'at you could of disabled their firearms." He said, thinking quickly of a way she could of helped. "If it makes you feel any betta, we have combat practice tomorrow, you c'n sharpen your power then." He said with a warm smile. "Speaking of which..." He muttered as he raised his head to his group. "Combat practice is tomorrow at noon. We'll all fight together as a team, an' I expect us to be able to win each time." He said with a confident smirk. "An' who knows? Maybe Jinx will make 'er move, along with that gang of 'ers."

... **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Yeah yeah I know, this chapter was longer than it should of been, I know. But sue me._

 _By the way, just so you can't sue me..._

 _, I don't own the Teen Titans franchise or any other thing I have presented in my tale.. Other than my characters. But if I saw them somewhere else I wouldn't really mind. It would be pretty cool actually._

 _-Raccoon._


	13. CH7- Home Security

It was three days since the robbery, and the Titans felt like they had improved their skills. These three days had been without incident in the city. Snake Charmer who had been watching the HIVE's door, and seeing no exit or entry. Rue still felt discouraged as her main role was to heal her teammates and usually nothing more, and this was equally true in their situational training. Dawnfire had suggested that they go North to continue the search for Jericho, but Flash Jack had still felt like HIVE was ready to strike. Half of this day was situational training, and the other half was strength training. Rue felt like she had no reason to improve her body, since she was so hopelessly weaker than the average person. She spent this strength training period doing cardio training instead. She assumed that she would be able to be a better fighting asset to the team if she could think of songs quicker, so with permission from Flash Jack, she would sometimes spend strength training reading a rhyming dictionary.

It was 8PM at the tower when all five Titans sat down for dinner. Despite not being able to eat, Rose had made ribs for her four friends. Rose had plenty of time to make the food since she usually spent weight training time to improve her body in the workshop. If she wasn't doing that, she was cooking. The meal tasted good to the four, and the conversation was somewhat connecting. Dawnfire enjoyed the ribs most out of anyone, especially since she had been frequently dipping it in white vinegar.

"What are we doing tomorrow?" Rose asked to Flash Jack as she started to clean up the dishes.

"I'm actually thinkn' we take a day off." He said as he swallowed a mouthful of pork. "We should just sit 'round n'd watch a film or somethin'" he said with a small smile. As he wiped some barbecue sauce off his fingers with a paper towel. His team gave him a small nod as the group started to clean up the counter they were eating on. "I wonda' when HIVE's goin'a make a move." He said, mostly to himself. He would have to ask Robin what to do next time they spoke.

"I think they are just training." Dawnfire said as she yawned a little. "Trying to hide what they can do from us." It was the first time in a while that someone referred to HIVE as a group, and not just Jinx. It seemed strange to the group that HIVE is more than one person. From the fight that they had, it was too easy to assume that Jinx was the only one that could present a threat to them.

The Titans have not really been sleeping well lately, as they worried about HIVE greatly. So despite it being early in the night, all of them (except for Rose) was very tired. Rue went straight to her room to practice on her violin before brushing her teeth and going to bed. Snake Charmer took a quick shower before shedding his skin as he walked to his bed. Dawnfire also took a shower before bed, and Flash Jack went straight to his hammock. Rose sped off to her room to change her IV bag, and during this she wondered what she would do all night. Most nights she would just fart around on the internet waiting for morning to come, but even that has its stopping point for being even minorly fun.

As her team drifted to sleep, she checked on her body once more. It would of felt odd to her to see her body from outside her body, but after years of this, she grew used to it. Making her way to the front room once again, she decided to watch the late night news for a while. Each night she felt lonely being the only one active, but she had assumed she would get used to it. As she was watching the news report on the robbery, something very strange occurred. She shut down for exactly 1.03 seconds. Quickly checking her power supply, she saw that her power was at a healthy 86%. Remaining suspicious, she stood up from the couch and made her way to her room. Perhaps a diagnostic scan would shed some light on things. With her battery never being low enough to cause a black out, she never had this happen to her before. She was about to enter her room when she had detected movement just outside Rue's door. She could already determine that it was not Rue from the fact that the figure was levitating, right in front of Rue's open door, as if Rose was watching someone else's nightmare. She was already running to tackle the figure when the figure was harshly pushed to the wall by an unseen force, most likely a song by Rue. There was a loud thud, so Rose didn't bother to alert her team. "Rue! Are you okay?" Rose yelled as she sprinted to Rue's door, to see the trembling pajama clad Titan in bed.

"Th.. That rhyming dictionary w..was a good p..purchase.." Rue said, clearly shaken. Flash Jack was already stepping out of the elevator as Dawnfire was already looking at the unconscious person that was slammed into the wall.

"Umm... I do believe I have seen this person before.." Dawnfire said, clad in her pale green pajama bottoms and a while shirt. Flash Jack meanwhile was dressed in nothing but a pair of green plaid lounge pants, and he had his rifle in his hands.

"What 'n the bloody Hell is goin' on?!" Flash Jack yelled as Snake Charmer was just making his way to the elevator.

Rue was too shaken to tell her friends that the woman that she had slammed into the wall was Raven, who had deathly startled her. "I... It's..." She stutters as she can't remove herself from her bed.

"We have an intruder." Rose said, not taking the time to look at their unconscious superior. "Don't know how they got past me.. I was watching the door.." She said looking to Raven. This didn't seem real at all.. These circumstances were off, and it just didn't seem right for Rose.

"It's Raven!" Rue almost screams as she quivers In her bed. "I.. Was just sleeping.. Then I saw her in front of my bed.." She said as she slowly crawled out of her little bed.

Dawnfire quickly recognized her as a Titan, while Rose was already beginning to put it all together. Flash Jack took a step forward to observe the unconscious Titan. About this time Snake Charmer entered the hallway. "Hold on hold on." Flash Jack said as he looked to his very confused teammates. "Okay, what happened?" He asked as he looked to Raven who had been slammed into a wall. Snake Charmer walked to the group, just about as confused as Flash Jack. Thankfully Snake Charmer was dressed in his clothing, as he rather spy on HIVE than sleep. "What was she even doin' sneakin' 'round here?"

Rose turned to Snake Charmer and Flash Jack before speaking. "I came upstairs to run a diagnostic, and I saw her levitating in front of Rue's room." She said as she kneeled down next to Raven to check for vital signs. She was waiting for Rue to speak. But after about thirty seconds pass, she continues. "Rue sang a song, and now we have her unconscious with a broken rib." She said, as Raven laid, unmoving in the divot made in the wall. Feeling for her pulse, Rose's actual body frowned. "She's still alive, but she's going to have a big headache when she wakes up."

"Well at least she found a way to use her powers.." Dawnfire muttered as she continued to analyze the situation. "What was Raven even doing here?"

"Why don't we ask her?" Snake Charmer said, looking at Rue. "Can you wake her up?" He asked to her.

Rue was standing in her doorway when Snake Charmer suggested this. With a nod of her head, she cleared her throat.

"I know not why Raven has visited,

But I had mistaken her for someone who would of kissed-it.

I would hope that her body would snap awake,

And cause no trouble in her wake."

Raven quickly jolted awake as her body rapidly repaired itself. Taking in a few lungfuls of air, she looked to the five Titans who were looking back at her. "WHAT IN AZAR WAS THAT?!" She boomed as she started to sit up. Her eyes quickly turned demonic and red in anger as she continued to scream. "ALL FIVE OF YOU WILL BE LABELED VILLAINS WHEN I-" She said, before being knocked out by a sudden 'wham' to the head by a greenish-grey orb. All conscious eyes went to Dawnfire as she humbly lowered her hand.

The other four were speechless as Rose confirmed that Raven was still alive. Dawnfire had regretted her resolve to knock Raven out again, and it showed by her severe blushing. All five of the Titans were close to panicking as they had knocked out one of their elders twice now. As they all stood in a stunned silence, Snake Charmer finally spoke. "How the hell are we going to explain this to Titans Central?" He said, almost mumbling. It's times like these that some people's minds would drift to something utterly irrelevant. Such as Snake Charmer's, which started to think about what he could do with his room. Flash Jack started to pace around, while Dawnfire finally started to speak.

"If.. If anyone wanted to... Umm.. Go to the evil side.. Now would be a great time..." Dawnfire said, quickly driving her head down after receiving a heavy glare from Flash Jack. Snake Charmer almost considered it, while Rose and Flash Jack were repulsed by the idea.

Rue felt a heavy pang of guilt as she looked at her unconscious mentor. "What do we do?" She was shaking a little from the sheer nervousness as she waited desperately for a plan.

"Hold on, hold on.. Let me think.." Flash Jack said as he paced around the hall. Looking at Raven, he could see that she had her communicator. "We're really kinda up shit creek.." He said as he closed his eyes for a moment. The communicator was indeed on her, that meant the other Titans knew she was here. "We could of just told Titans Central.. But I guess we're past that now.." He said shooting a glare at Dawnfire.

Rose was quickly debating this conundrum as well. "We can't kill her.." She said out loud. "Central will surely find out.." Looking at Raven who was starting to stir awake, she quickly picked her up. Using a modification that she had just installed earlier today, she breathed some gas on Raven's face to send her back to sleep. Setting her back down on the ground, she looks to her group once again.

"Who said anything about killing? We could just hold her in the emergency shelter.." Rue said humbly as she crossed her arms nervously. "As long as we can keep her silent and non-moving.." She said, almost wanting to run away.

Snake Charmer was quick to discourage this idea, as he had considered this idea himself. "She's much more powerful than us.. She'll escape." He said grimly.

"An' she has 'er communicator. The Central Titans know she's 'ere." Jack said as he started scratching his beard. "We're goin'a have to make a pretty foolproof lie for this.." He said pinching the bridge of his nose.

"Are you about done?" Jinx asked as she was looking down at Dream breaker who had her eyes closed in tight focus. Not hearing a response from Gizmo, she frowns as she looks to Dream Breaker who was sitting on the floor next to the elevator. With a little bit of a scoff, she kneels down to Dream Breaker. "How much longer can you hold it?" She asked her as she squinted at the bright red light that the tower's alarm was flashing. Thanks to Gizmo, the security systems were disabled, and so were the cameras, but nothing more. Jinx had spent some time looking through the tower, and some more time observing Flash Jack as he slept. It was clearly visible that he was having a troubling dream. The Australian was hanging in a hammock with a light tan felt blanket over his chest. From what Dream Breaker told her, she could only force them to be in the same nightmare, but in no way could she control it.. Not yet anyway.

"I've never done it this long before.." She muttered as she kept her eyes clamped shut. "I need them closer to me... I'll be able to hold it longer." She said shortly after.

Jinx frowned a little more before standing up. "I'll get right to that.." She said as she turned to Gizmo who was currently tinkering with Rose's control panel. Jinx took a few more steps to Gizmo before attempting contact again. "Hey Baldy, are you about done?" She asked with the same frown on her face.

"This robot's freaking programming is more advanced than that idiot in Jump City.. Too freaking advanced for me.." Gizmo said, cursing periodically as he failed to bypass Rose's systems. "I'm not going to be able to install a kill switch... I'm not even sure I'll be able to install a camera.." He said as he closed the head panel.

Jinx seemed to get a little more riled up as she looked back to Dream Breaker who was now sweating from the strain. "How long will that take?" She said, more of a demand than a question. She was this way from minor desperation. She should of thanked Gizmo for helping her with this, but Jinx had no time for it.

"Ten minutes.." He said, knowing that Jinx could easily ruin his whole weapons system with just a snap of her fingers. Installing a camera was easy, but it would take much longer to make it hidden.

"Make it five." Jinx growled as she quickly climbed up the fireman's pole. Casting a hex on every door she sees, she's unable to find that one frail girl she ran into at the museum, rather she finds the bearded rifleman sleeping in a hammock. Climbing another level, she finally finds her. With minimal effort, she slides down the fireman's pole with Rue over her shoulder. Jinx then sets Rue down by Dream Breaker. "Is that any better?" She asked to her student. Rolling her shoulders, she stands at her original spot between the two HIVE members.

"Yeah.." Dream Breaker said as her posture seemed to relax a bit. "I'll be able to hold it for a little while longer." She said as she still had her eyes squeezed shut.

"Good, because this camera is going to take way more than ten minutes to install.." Gizmo said as he continued working.

Jinx actually felt sorry for Dream Breaker as that news came to light, which was a very rare occurrence. "I'm going to look around." She said as she climbed up the fireman's pole. Going into Flash Jack's room again, she saw some sort of wooden stick propped up against the wall. Upon further inspection, it was revealed to her that this wooden stick was indeed a didgeridoo. Odd, the Australian didn't really strike her as the musical type. The reloading bench at the opposite wall was a sight to look at. At first, she didn't even recognize it as a reloading bench, until she saw the rifle leaned up against it. Her gaze then looked to a small photo tacked to a wall, it was a photo of a farmhouse with a young boy and two adults that had their faces etched out. The young boy looked like he was crying, and the farmhouse looked very run down. Upon further inspection, Jinx saw that the boy was Flash Jack. "Hmm.. Looks like you have some home issues.." She said looking to the sleeping man. Leaving his room, she goes to the computer core that was at the same floor. After seeing nothing of particular interest, she slides back down to the ground floor to check out the control room. After some digging and some hacking (as Gizmo was not the only one proficient with a computer.) she found the names of the Titans. Snake Charmer, Dawnfire, Rose, Rue, and Flash Jack, all with a picture. Quickly taking a mental note, she learned two important things. Since Dawnfire was a Tamaranean name, she could assume that the Viking looking lady was Tamaranean herself. She had also learned that this 'Snake Charmer' was the scarecrow guy. He did bite Kodiak which sent him to sleep.. Apparently this guy is a snake himself. She wandered back into the front room to see Dream Breaker in a struggle.

Jinx was starting to get discouraged as she looked to Gizmo. "Hurry up! We don't have much time!" She said angrily. Gizmo didn't miss Jinx's leadership, nobody really did.. Other than See-More, but not that much. Jinx crossed her arms as she watched Gizmo work with a few wires. Turning her head to Dream Breaker, she bit her lip. "Come on Gizmo. Dream Breaker can't hold it for much longer, are you done yet?"

Gizmo was still installing the camera when the robot's eyes started glowing. "Hey! Get your stupid recruit to hold it longer! It's waking up!" He said as Rose's consciousness attempted to reconnect with her robotic body. With a grunt, Dream Breaker canceled the reunion. As she held all the minds of the Titans in her head, she could not hold them for much longer. Jinx quickly put her hand on Dream Breaker's back as she shot a death glare at Gizmo. Despite the situation, she casted a hex on Gizmo, causing the next rocket he would fire to misfire.

"Hurry the Hell up you toddler." She grunted as she started sweating even more. Jinx knew that if the Titans woke up, they would have no way of getting an inside eye.

"I... Can't keep going..." She said, almost fainting herself. Dream Breaker was sweating heavily at this point.

Jinx nearly had a panic attack as Gizmo shouted that he had finished. About the same time, Dream Breaker collapsed on her side, panting heavily. As Rose and Rue started to wake up, Gizmo scrambled to grab his things as he sprinted out the door. Jinx was about to thank Gizmo for helping, but when she saw Dream Breaker collapse, she quickly threw Dream Breaker over her shoulder like she did with Rue, and she sprinted out of the door. That was much closer than she would of liked, but the deed was done. Dream Breaker was unconscious from the mental strain, and Gizmo, who had been pretty much scared into helping was already complaining. Jinx blocked it out as she carried Dream Breaker in her arms now as she sprinted into the city. Gizmo of course was flying, but Jinx had no such luxury. But with the Titans effectively recovering from a coma, it was somewhat easy for them to escape to the hideout. The other four students were sleeping as the three entered the bunker. After quite literally throwing Dream Breaker on the used couch, she turned to Gizmo. "CAN YOU SHUT THE HELL UP?!" She screamed, loud enough to quiet Gizmo and to wake up her students.

"It wasn't easy to even put the damn camera on it.." Gizmo complained quietly as he folded his arms.

Jinx, who had just wanted the mission to be over and her former partner out of her home, turned around to glare down at him. Bending down just a little, she pushed him into the wall. "And it wasn't easy for me not to tell HIVE5 about what I read on your search history." She said, her eyes glowing pink in her anger.

"But.. I deleted my search hi-" Gizmo said, his skin pale and his eyes wide.

Jinx was still pushing him into the wall when she was continuing the revelation. "You're not the the only one that can work a computer!" She said as she stood up again. "Now go back to Jump City. Thank you for your help, and if I hear you call Dream Breaker stupid again, I will broadcast your furry fetish to the whole country, and I will break your little fucking throat shortly after." She said with a sweet smile shortly after. At hearing this, Oliver quickly crawled back to his room. "Now, any questions? Didn't think so." She said as she pushed him out the bunker door.

Jinx's face quickly softened after the heavy door had shut. She quickly turned around and looked to the unconscious pupil on the couch. It's very rarely that she would feel concerned for someone, as the last time it happened is when Kid Flash had tripped due to one of Jinx's hexes. She did her best to stop thinking about her brief stroll with the good side. Dream Breaker had definitely pushed her limit. Her pale skin was laden with sweat, and her fire red hair was matted. "I'm proud of you kid." Jinx said, in an almost motherly voice that had even shocked her. "But.. Well, you need more training." She said afterwards. She couldn't deny it to herself that Dream Breaker had the most potential out of her five students. She was loyal, and for someone so hard to trust, Jinx did trust her. She caught herself hating the other four for not being as effective. She had a overwhelming feeling of being proud of Dream Breaker, and she knew that HIVE would soon send the uniforms for her class, and she would have to make sure Dream Breaker got hers first. As Jinx sat down on the couch to rest, she sighed. How would you even dress her? Something black Probably. As she crossed her legs, she took out her HIVE communicator to see the world through Rose's eyes.

Confusion had been all too common in the tower, and tonight took confusion to a whole new level. The alarm was deactivated once the young heroes searched for the intruders. (Rose sped the progress by doing a life scan.) All Five Titans remembered the ordeal for about ten seconds before it was blurred to a unclear garble. Rose had the odd vision, but she was more confused about the time gap. She had a clear view of the moon from where she was sitting. One second, the sky was almost clear, the next second, the moon was high in the sky, and there were clouds all over the sky. When Jinx had activated the camera, the five were met in the level three hallway, where 'Raven' had been slammed into the wall. Rue had to assumed that she had been sleepwalking, as she had never thought of a better theory of how she ended up on the floor of the living room. Rose was of course suspicious, as she had gone down two percent on her power supply, with an obvious time gap. The three other Titans were spooked by the foggy dream that all the Titans seemed to share. "I'm going to check the security cameras.." Rose said as the four other Titans didn't share her sense of discontent. She detected the difference, so she decided to make light on the situation. "Hey, it's just a video of Rue sleepwalking, sounds hilarious to me." She said as she looked at the security tapes remotely. She saw that the security tapes had cut off as soon as the alarm had been tripped. Then the cameras came back online as the Titans started waking up. "Something's wrong here." Rose said grimly. Without another word, she darted into her room to run a diagnostic scan on her body. Her friends, whose human bodies required the sleep that they are being deprived of, were too tired to care, and they dragged themselves to their bedroom.

Jinx at this point, who had been watching through Rose's eyes, was regretting the operation. It wasn't even an hour and the robot had almost discovered the whole operation. Jinx had also assumed that the camera would soon be discovered.

Upon further reflection, the operation had a thick silver lining. Dream Breaker had distinguished herself, Jinx had the opportunity to look around the tower, and she was also able to terrify Gizmo with the threat of his secret coming out. Most of all, once the robot figures out that the three HIVE members passed her security system, the whole team will have their confidence shattered. For Jinx, that was all the silver lining she needed.

.. **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Hello! Yeah, so that happened, that was really fun to write. Feedback still appreciated, but if you're here just to read, thanks for reading this far! I also want to think all those people who followed and favorited my tale. It really makes me feel good inside to know that you like my concept that much._

 _Anyways, school is coming up, that means my chapters will be few and far between. Sorry._

 _Oh, and I'm sorry for using the F-bomb. I wanted to use another word, but I just don't think that 'freaking' would cut it in that case._

 _Have a great day, and thanks for reading this far!_

 _-The very ratcoony Ratcoon._


	14. Snake Charmer II

Samuel York had been playing with his toy soldiers when his mother called him for lunch. Samuel was already a quiet child, but not because he was shy, just because he didn't enjoy what others had to say. Talking to others would only result in them talking back. As he sat in the dining room of his home eating a tuna fish sandwich, he looked up to his mother. "I'm going to work in the garden in about an hour. You can go out and explore if you like." His mother said as she cleaned up a few dishes.

The homestead was a very quiet and slow one. A large farm with a little house, and only two people to inhabit it. Samuel had attended the school in the town over, and the school disliked his mother for extending the bus route to the farm. As a second grader he did his best to learn how to read, but socially he was very awkward. The farmland was clearly unusable, as stones in the ground prohibit any kind of sowing. Whenever Samuel would ask his mother what she did for work, she would only say that she works, whatever that means. He finished his meal, and he went back into his room to play with his toys again. He's spent some time exploring the seemingly endless farmland, but he had failed to find anything interesting. Of course, he doesn't remember living anywhere else, but he was born in the city. He was soon called by his mother to go outside, to which he responded by running to the front door. He never knew his father, as he had left his life just two years after Samuel was born. Samuel had a dormant attitude, and he had a calm temperament. His schoolmates sometimes had interpreted this as weakness, and this interpretation was further supported by his unwillingness to fight back.

"You can go anywhere you like, just make sure you can still see the house." His mother said as she was already kneeling down to remove weeds in her vegetable garden. With a quiet nod, Samuel quickly ran behind the house to explore. He only did enough exploration to find a good spot to play with his little plastic soldiers, and that was about enough for him. He was about two hundred yards away from the house, and he was sitting on the mostly dry ground. His short brown hair warmed in the noon sun as he set his soldiers on the flat rock. One thing about Samuel was his ability to make fun anywhere, and now with a handful of little plastic soldiers and a flat rock, he occupied himself for two hours before something very strange occurred. Out in the corner of his eye, he saw something crawl from under the flat rock. Quickly turning his head to see the snake, he quickly jumped to his feet. He almost called for his mother, but upon closer inspection of the snake, he found himself fascinated by it. It glided along the dry ground as if it was water, and it frequently flicked its tongue. The snake was mostly black with a dark green stripe on its back, and it was about a foot long. He kneeled down to see the snake more closely, not making a sound himself. He meekly watched the snake, finding fascination in the small creature.

He watched the snake for a while before his attention drifted to the rather unnaturally flat stone that the snake crawled from. It was about a foot in diameter, and upon his inspection, it was indeed confirmed that in no way was this stone naturally shaped. Quickly clearing it of his toy soldiers, he uses a nearby stick to lift it to its other side. He felt a somewhat unnatural feeling of warmth as he looked to the stone. It was more of a stone disk, as it was only one inch deep in the ground. What further interested him was the etching on the disk. It was a crude drawing of a snake, further colored by some sort of black paint. He knelt down to further observe it, and when he touched it, he immediately felt cold, as if all the warmth swiftly left his body. For some reason just then, the snake terrified him, so he sprinted back to the house for his mother. Not making a sound, he quickly wrapped his hands around his mother's thigh in fear.

Despite the prompting, Samuel never told his mother what he saw, so his mother assumed that he must've seen a coyote or something to the effect. To someone as young as Samuel, such a sighting would prompt fear. It was about six PM when Samuel had felt cold again. He only stopped shivering when his mother had put him to bed. The blankets had given him warmth, as the sun did outside. With his shivering, his mother of course assumed that he had just caught a cold. It was the next morning when he had remained shivering that his mother began to worry. She checked for a fever, but instead of his forehead being too hot, it was very much cold. Perhaps this was just a bug, or maybe she had the wrong idea of what a cold was. "That coyote you saw yesterday must of really spooked you." She said as she put a little cup of tea on his tiny lap.

"I saw a snake." Samuel said quietly. He took a drink of the herbal tea before looking up to the soft face of his mother. "I still feel cold." He said, as the warm tea only heated him up from the inside.

"Why don't you sit by the fire?" She said softly as she gently lead him to the living room where she had made a small fire in the fireplace. She had already made the decision to keep him out of school, and she knew that the bus driver would be very agitated when Samuel did not even show up at the bus stop. Samuel nodded in thanks as he shivered a little more. He had an odd tingling sensation in his lower back. "I really hope this is just a cold.." She said as she wrapped a blanket around the boy. "I think it's about time you worked with momma." She said with a small smile as she patted his head. She was actually a novelist, but sadly the books that she had managed to publish never really kicked up any fuss. Samuel didn't reply, as the strange sensation in his lower back continued to irritate him. He did however put thought into what his mother said. Never had he knew what she did for work.

"Mom, can I take a hot bath?" He asked in a small voice as he took another drink from the cup being held in his tiny little hands. For a child living in Utah, being cold was rarely a problem, so this prompted his mother to comply.

"Sure honey. While you soak, I'll call the doctor. Maybe he knows what's wrong." She said as she picked the small boy up in her arms. Setting him down by the tub, she draws the bath. "While I get this bath ready, why don't you get your bath toys?" He nodded quietly as he walked to his room. The early morning sun crept his way into his room as he gathered a handful of action figures. He returned to the bathroom where the bath was already drawn. His mother gently kissed his forehead before leaving the room. Shedding his clothes, he stepped into the bathtub. After about twenty minutes of soaking in the pleasantly warm water, he saw something floating in the water. Upon further investigation, he saw that it was a long strip of shredded skin, just like the ones he got when he was sunburnt. He rubbed his hand over the tingling on his back, and he felt... Something smoother than his own skin. But he can still feel it when touched, as if it was still his skin. Leaving the tub, he quickly examines himself in the mirror. Turning so he could see his back, he saw a dark green patch on his back, almost like a scale. His skin was still shedding around it, and despite being a quiet boy, he was smart enough to know that this rash was most likely spreading. He was about to call for his mother, when he felt something strange in his mouth. His tongue felt.. Strange. It almost felt like it was smaller than normal. It was then that he put two and two together. He had his theory, and it was confirmed when he felt his slightly extended canine teeth. He tried his best to remain level headed, and for the most part, he didn't panic. He read somewhere that snakes were cold blooded creatures, which would easily explain his temperature problem.

As his mind shifted to make a plan, he couldn't help but cry. He thought about showing his body changes to his mother, but he eventually decided against it. He thought about life as a snake, and how it must look like seeing through the eyes of a snake. When he had blinked, he saw the outside of his house. He gave a quiet yelp before looking back into the mirror. So, he was turning into a snake. He felt his only option was to run away to live with the snakes. He would have to live like a snake, and eat like a snake. What did snakes even eat? Mice right? He quickly dried himself before putting on some cloths. A pair of jeans and a sweatshirt is what he wore as he crept out of his room. He heard typing on a computer as he shoved a handful of candy bars in his sweatshirt pocket. He took one last look at his mother before silently exiting the house.

The sun warmed him, but he still felt slightly depressed being parted from his mother. He looked to the ground to see the same snake as he did yesterday. The snake immediately went north, as did Samuel. At this same time, four of the people he will eventually live with are dealing with their own experiences. One is being beaten, another has been abandoned at the orphanage, and the other two are in the embrace of their loving parents. Samuel passed over the stone that caused this, and then finally, he started to weep heavily. This was his new life.

.. **RATCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So, I'm planning on scattering these backstory things when I feel like they're needed. Please tell me what you think about that plan._

 _-Raccoon._


	15. CH8- Bounty Hunter

Rose didn't even wait for the team to wake up to report her findings. She knew eight things for sure.

1\. Gizmo, a HIVE member, managed to disarm the security software.

2\. Somehow, the HIVE members that had broken into the tower had managed to disconnect Rose's conscious from her robotic body to her biological body.

3\. The HIVE members were able to sedate all five Titans for at least two hours.

4\. The camera installed on Rose is securely protecting the IP address of what it is transmitting to.

5\. The camera was designed and installed by Gizmo.

6\. Gizmo had attempted to hack her mechanical body.

7\. From the foot impressions on the floor, Gizmo, Jinx, and a HIVE recruit have been in the tower.

8\. Rue was laid down by Jinx next to the HIVE recruit.

She promptly rushed to Flash Jack's room as she heard him performing his morning ritual of practicing his didgeridoo. After relaying all eight facts to her leader, Flash Jack rubbed his beard for a while. "Is there anythin' we c'n do to keep 'em out?" He said quietly to Rose.

"I randomized the encryption keys and I added two more lines of encryption code. I also installed an alarm that will alert us to a hack attempt." She said, still angry with herself for not adding extra security measures. "I doubt that they will be able to get in without us knowing." She added. "Are we still having a free day?" She then asked.

"I'm not sure. Erm... We'll talk 'bout it when everyone's up." He said as he retreated into his room to change his cloths. He decided to skip the shower in favor of using some deodorant. He made it to the living room to prepare some oatmeal for his friends, and he had spent the whole time thinking about what had happened last night. With a sigh, he looked out the window to see the morning's sun, which was almost completely hidden by the multitude of grey clouds in the sky. Maybe he was an ineffective leader, leading an ineffective team. How could they protect Sylvester City if they can't even protect the tower? Half of him tried to deflect these negative thoughts, but the other half wanted to improve the team. Something rotten was happening with the city, and he could feel it. HIVE has a plan, and this plan involved modifying Rose. He slammed his hand on the counter, making Dawnfire whom was walking into the room jump.

"You appear to have conflict with the counter.." Dawnfire said as she slowly retreated to the elevator, as she felt too sleepy to fly up the fireman's pole as she usually did.

"Dawnfire.. No." Flash Jack replied as he turned to his friend. "I was.. Jus' havin' a bit of a temper tantrum.." He said as he put a bowl of unsweetened oatmeal on the bar table. "I... I'm just mad... Hoppin' mad. 'Bout last night... We... I should 'f some somethin'." He said slowly as he leaned against the refrigerator to slowly eat his meal.

"Jack." Dawnfire said, as she processed what he had said. "We do not know everything." She said as she took a spoonful of the bland oatmeal. "We are not.. Sure as the eggs." She said quietly and humbly. "And you can not blame yourself for what someone else did."

Although neither Rose nor Flash Jack had evidence to suggest that there was any way to have avoided the incident, Flash Jack remained with his feelings of guilt. "We need 'a talk to the mayor. Somethin' is about to happen. I c'n feel it." He said, feeling a little better that he had finally said it, instead of just thinking it.

"I do not think that the mayor will be interested." Dawnfire said almost carelessly. "The police handle small criminals. We handle big criminals. Or so Starfire has told me." She said taking another spoonful of oatmeal. "Or, the police try to handle the big criminals, and we handle everything we can." She said as she pondered their position with the police. "What about the crime rate? It is still low. So all we have to worry about is HIVE." She said in an attempt to comfort Flash Jack.

Flash Jack was set to reply, but Rue had arrived to the living room. She seemed more tired than usual, as Dream Breaker's power usually did this to her targets. Rue didn't say anything as she drew the pot of coffee. "Rose already told me what happened." She said quietly as she turned to the two heroes. "I do remember something from the dream... I think I saw Raven.." She said as she was pouring herself a cup of coffee.

"Ey remember us being panicked 'bout somethin'.." Jack replied. He then looked to Dawnfire, who had her eyebrows furrowed in focus. She remembered suggesting that they go on the bad side, but for obvious reasons she stayed silent. Snake Charmer was the next one to appear as he stepped out the elevator. He gave a quiet look to his three teammates before picking up his bowl of now lukewarm oatmeal.

"My snakes say that they only saw the alarm lights." He said, referring to last night. He said nothing more as he took his bowl to the booth at the side of the room. Sitting down, he looked to the three as he slowly ate. He almost thought about generating small talk, but he quickly decided against it.

After about an hour of small talk and bland oatmeal, the alarm flashed again, and Rose's voice echoed from the intercom. "One. Known Jump City fugitive known as 'Mad Mod' sighted area 30 Sylvester City. Two. Sylvester City police request assistance in finding burglar. Area 2." She said as she made her way down the fireman's pole.

"Right..." Flash Jack said as he took a final bite of his oatmeal. "Rose, Snake Charma', the two of ya go an' help finding the burglar. Eryone else, you're with me." He said as he quickly slung his rifle on his back.

After Snake Charmer and Rose quickly darted out of the tower, Rose grabbed Snake Charmer by his armpits and activated her jets on her back. She had time to improve her flight systems, and it showed. It wasn't even five minutes when they arrived at the house. It was clear that the house was broken into, with the front window being shattered. Neither of the Titans said anything as the policemen explained what they had, rather Rose took a closer look at the broken glass, and Snake Charmer manifested a few snakes to start searching for foot impressions around the house. Rose did find blood on one of the shards of glass, so she knelt down to dab some of the blood on her palm. "He's a diabetic." She said abruptly. Changing her vision for chemical tracking, she looks to the side to see the very faint blood trail going down the street. "Snake Charmer. I have a trail." With the two of them leaving the policemen who were watching Rose with a faint sense of awe, the blood trail leads them to an alley. Snake Charmer acted quickly and sent a snake to peek around the corner. He saw three males, two armed with baseball bats, and one with a .22 caliber pistol. He raised his hand to halt Rose as he sent his venomous snakes to take care of them. Rose heard one body hit the ground, and then two gunshots. Snake Charmer grunted from the pain of his snakes as Rose quickly entered the alleyway. One man was unconscious on the ground, and the other one was slumped up on the wall. Rose didn't really care about all the bullets that were hitting her as she raised her hand to send a bolt of electricity to stun the man. After a small collaborating period with the policemen, the two Titans decide to walk around the town for a while, as the groggy grey skies only offered very slight sprinkles of rain.

For the other three Titans, things were not this simple. By the time Rose and Snake Charmer were already halfway done with their job, Rue, Dawnfire, and Flash Jack were trying to find the 'Crazy red haired Brit' that had been ranting up and down the streets. Dawnfire had attempted to fly in the air in order to find him, but she did find an explosion mark in the middle of the road. The three quickly investigated it. Rue was asking for witnesses, while Dawnfire and Flash Jack studied the blast marks. Thankfully it was a weak explosive, and it had only damaged three cars. Rue returned to the group after the quick interview, and she had humbly tapped the shoulder of Flash Jack. He turned to her, while Dawnfire had taken back to the air. "The lady told me that 'Mad Mod' had been walking down the street ranting about 'jolly old England' when he threw a grenade on the street." She said as she looked to the blast mark. The grenade had a little bit of chalk infused with the explosives, resulting in a crude Union Jack printed on the pavement. Flash Jack was about to reply when Dawnfire crashed back to earth, making an indent on the ground. Rue quickly darted to her, while Flash Jack drew his gun, and stepped in behind Rue. He then spotted the red haired man on top of a restaurant across the street.

"Ey!" Flash Jack said, quickly loading a tranq bullet into his rifle. "We'r jus' lookn' for ya!" He looked to Dawnfire who was slowly picking herself up from the ground. She had been hit with a small electric missile, most likely launched from Mad Mod's cane.

"Ah! An Australian! You're still an active English colony!" Mad Mod once again opened his mouth to speak, but he was quickly silenced by the tranq bullet. Mad Mod's limp body didn't leave the building's roof when he fell. Clearly Flash Jack didn't like the comment.

"If you do that each time, I think this city is safe." Dawnfire said as Rue was thinking of a rhyme in order to heal Dawnfire. Rose and Snake Charmer were already back at the tower when the three other Titans were flying back to home. Rue was sitting on her circular slab being controlled by Dawnfire, and Flash Jack was much the same, with Mad Mod over his shoulders. The ride home was a blur for him, as Rue and Dawnfire had a conversation, but Flash Jack did not listen in. He had read the Titans policy earlier, and he knew that as the leader of the tower, he had the ability to hold criminals for up to two months. For two months then, that's a criminal off the streets, since the authorities here have proven themselves completely unable to hold on to a criminal. That's at least what Flash Jack was thinking. He shook his head a little, as he knew that he was angry just because of what the Brit said about his homeland.

When Rue walked through the Tower's door, she saw Snake Charmer watching television while Rose was nowhere to be seen. Flash Jack went to dump the bastard off at the holding cell area, Dawnfire sat by Snake Charmer on the couch, while Rue had wandered into the kitchen to make another cup of coffee.

The cell that Mad Mod was in was livable. It had a cot pushed to the side, next to the toilet, and the sink. At the other end of the room, the small shower area. The entertainment was almost nonexistent except for the small bookshelf at the corner of the room, that just contained a few magazines. Mad Mod was still unconscious when Flash Jack threw him on the cot. He assumed that the Brit fell so easily because of his lack of planning. The establishment of Titans West must of been small news down south at Jump City. This almost offended him, but it's only been two weeks. Rome wasn't built in a day, and neither was the Titan's reputation. He finally decided that keeping Mad Mod as a pet for all two months was wrong. He would have to call Jump City so they can pick Mad Mod up. In the mean time, Flash Jack would keep him here.

Dawnfire had an odd feeling of unease as she watched the news of the activities of the day. The weather was somewhat groggy, with light showers throughout the day, much like the weather back at Ireland. Drawn by the Grey skies, she quickly flew up the fireman's pole. She loved grey skies, and she loved light drizzles even more. Rose had just finished repairing her body when Dawnfire had sped off to the top of the tower, so the two's path never crossed. Dawnfire hadn't really missed Ireland, as it was a very lonely place for her. But she smiled at the weather seeming to follow her. She sat at the edge of the tower, and she watched the city. Still there were people walking their dogs and such, despite the light rain. She closed her eyes to feel the slightly nippy air as she sighed. She had grown fond of her new friends, and she felt like there was a mutual trust between all five. Stern lectures and arguments happened every now and then, such as the lecture on Australian pride that Dawnfire received from Flash Jack. Evidently the residents were no longer exiles. Dawnfire smiled from the thought of the conversation as she looked to the sky. She was sitting in the light rain in deep reflection when she saw the Tamaranean in the air. Dawnfire quickly focused on the flying female while she squinted her eyes. At first she thought it was Starfire, but the body type is all that they have shared. The flying figure made its way to Dawnfire as she didn't move from her spot.

This was a rarer Tamaranean, as she had purple eyes and black hair. "I am looking for Dawnfire of the Rakka clan." She said in Tamaranean, with a heavy tone of arrogance in her voice. Dawnfire felt a pang of nervousness, so she stood up to face the Tamaranean. The woman saw the look of concern in Dawnfire, so she softened her facial expression. "I am Blackfire of Tamaran." She said with a softer smile.

Dawnfire felt like this woman would not harm her, so there was no issue with telling the truth. "I am Dawnfire." She said as she levitated to be eye level with Blackfire. This was the second time she had spoke Tamaranean on this world, and she had no complaints. It just seemed a little more... Natural on her tongue. "To what do I owe the visit?" She asked humbly, as she returned to the roof, gesturing Blackfire to do the same. She had an awful feeling about Blackfire, and she felt uneasy that she would mention that she is Rakka.

Blackfire's eyes turn purple as she prepares to apprehend the Rakka Tamaranean. Once her clan found out that she had left exile, they posted a high bounty for Dawnfire to be delivered to the clan. She quickly lunged at Dawnfire, who despite being ready, failed to deflect the attack. "I have obtained asylum!" Dawnfire roared as she threw the smaller Tamaranean off of her. Dawnfire then scrambled to her feet to get a bearing on her enemy. Blackfire had already prepared to attack when Dawnfire manifested a large slab to protect herself with. She could guess that her attacker was some sort of bounty hunter, therefore, the attacker had skill. Dawnfire knew that her only option was to get help from her team. Her protection was soon shattered by two purple star bolts, and then she saw the purple eyed attacker. With a mighty grunt, Dawnfire projected three grey-green orbs to launch at Blackfire, whom dodged all three effortlessly.

Blackfire knew from her last visit to earth that these towers held five heroes, and her job would be much harder fighting all five when her intention is to capture one. But not known to her, Rose had detected the fight on the roof, and the team was on their way to the roof. Blackfire easily broke through the grey-green walls with her starbolts as Dawnfire struggled to keep them up. As using her powers required more energy, she did not feel like she had enough energy to fly away. As her barrier was broken down, she was knocked down by a purple starbolt before she could react. Dawnfire slowly picked herself off the ground as Blackfire laughed while she walked to the other Tamaranean. "Leading you back to Tamaran like a Drogguar might be a little humiliating." She said, readying a starbolt to render Dawnfire unconscious. "Since you are Rakka, it would be humiliating for me. I have to conceal you." She said with a smug smile. "And you are much more use to me unconscious than you are awake."

The pain was swift, as Dawnfire was plunged into forced unconsciousness. Blackfire was about to claim her catch when she felt the sudden surge of electricity hit her in the back. With a gasp, she turns around to see Rose with her arms raised to send another shock. The other three Titans were almost at the top of the tower when Rose dodged the incoming starbolts, which was easy considering that she was already flying in the air. Blackfire had the chance to look behind her to see that her victim was still unconscious. But instead of just seeing this, she had also seen the three other heroes. Blackfire knew that her mission had just gotten much harder as she threw a series of starbolts at the three newcomers. She knew that she was more or less surrounded by now, so she grabbed the limp Dawnfire by her legs, and she shot up into the air.

Rue acted quickly, as Rose could only do so much in a air battle. She stepped out of the elevator, she sang a song.

"My friend shall not be bested,

May Dawnfire wake up fully rested.

With the battle, pressure has mounted.

May this attacker be grounded."

With this song, two distinctive things happened. The two Tamaraneans quickly plummeted to the ground, and Flash Jack fired a net bullet at Blackfire. The net bullet was one of the more sophisticated bullets designed by Flash Jack. During flight to its target, it will split open in quadrants, that would be connected by a titanium-infused net. Upon contact, the net would then wrap around the target, and the four bullet fragments would pop, and a foam mixture would attach the net to any surface. Dawnfire had avoided the net, as she was far enough away from Blackfire. Dawnfire quickly reset her stance as Blackfire easily broke through the net. The skinnier Tamaranean saw that the Titans had surrounded her, and she knew that if they were true Titans, this would be a very difficult fight. Flash Jack had already loaded some blunt edge bullets, while Snake Charmer and Rose prepared for a fight. Dawnfire had spent her time walking to Rue who was carefully checking her Tamaranean friend for injury.

Blackfire had managed to escape the net, and after doing so, she looked at the five heroes with spite in her eyes. "Your friend is a Tamaranean criminal." She said, yielding a response only from Dawnfire.

"I have received asylum from princess Starfire." Dawnfire said slowly, returning the look of spite to her aggressor.

"Starfire? That oaf of a sister is not fit to be the princess of anything." Blackfire Responded. Standing up from the net, her eyes returned to a people glow. "Duel!" She shrieked in Tamaranean as she set herself in the air.

Dawnfire soon followed, muttering: "Stay out of this fight." To Rue before going eye to eye with Blackfire. Despite the chaos, the three other heroes heard the command as Dawnfire shot up into the air. Flash Jack felt humbled, as he had himself set as leader. Robin hasn't officially granted the honor to anyone yet, but he seemed like the one. The two Tamaraneans stared at eachother for a while before Blackfire gave a quick punch to Dawnfire's head. Dawnfire responded by flying away from Blackfire, and setting several barriers to gain some distance. Keeping the barriers up drained her energy, but with the surge of adrenaline, she managed to keep them up long enough to keep some distance. Dawnfire was far away enough from Blackfire that the starbolts being fired at her were easily dodged. Rose had a hard time not joining in the fight, and the other three Titans would of felt the same way if they were able to fly. From their perspective, they saw that Dawnfire was fighting an uphill battle, as Blackfire chased Dawnfire through the sky, while Dawnfire spent her time flying away.

Flash Jack turned to Rose, and he thought for a moment before speaking. "Be ready to catch Dawnfire should she fall." He said quietly as he slowly loaded some blunt edged bullets in his rifle. "An' Rue, think of a good song for 'er." He said, concerned for his friend. He closed his eyes, and he held his breath. He felt like this fight was needless, and this feeling was shared with his friends. It was about thirty seconds into the fight that Dawnfire had finally landed a hit, in the form of a grey-green bar to Blackfire's head. It was about then that Dawnfire had taken an offensive, by pushing the other Tamaranean with a large rectangular slab. Snake Charmer had stayed silent during the whole situation, as he spent most of his focus looking at the door to the HIVE hideout.

The fight continued, and neither Blackfire nor Dawnfire was able to make a overly definitive blow to the other. The light drizzle turned to rain as Dawnfire struck a heavy blow to Blackfire, in a the form of a kick to her head. Both of the Tamaraneans proved most durable as many blows sustained would of easily been fatal to a human.

Despite the hits that Dawnfire had landed, Blackfire was definitely winning the fight. Several times Dawnfire had been hit by Blackfire's starbolts, and Flash Jack worried dearly for his friend. He almost considered firing at Blackfire to end the battle, and he knew in doing so Dawnfire might never forgive him. Something to do with alien culture, or something to the same effect. Finally, the battle drew on to be two minutes long and counting. Flash Jack was actually in the process of lifting up his weapon when Blackfire dove to the ground, and grabbed Rue by the hair, two which she quickly threw off the side of the tower. Dawnfire was diving to meet Blackfire, While Rose lunged to save her friend. But the robotic Titan was halted by a few star bolts, which sent her body into reboot. Flash Jack quickly fired three shots at the skinnier Tamaranean, and two of them landed. The first hit her in the calf, the other on the chest. All it did was stun her heavily as snake charmer abruptly bit her neck like a vampire. Instead of finishing her opponent, Dawnfire quickly flew to the falling Rue to prevent her certain death.

Blackfire managed to throw Snake Charmer off of her, but his venom made itself very much noticed as she developed double vision. As if she was drunk, she flew higher into the air in retreat. Rose was just starting to return to her robotic body, and Flash Jack was busy watching Rue be returned to the roof. Dawnfire looked visibly bruised and shaken, while Rue just looked shaken. For a while the five looked to the disappearing figure in the sky in a silence, with it only being broken by the sounds of Rue's soft crying.

Snake Charmer didn't look up to the fleeing Tamaranean, instead he looked through the eyes of his snakes. He growled a little to himself ashe had became the messenger of bad news. "The HIVE team just left the bunker."

.. **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

 _For those of you that care, I'm sorry for the awkwardly long chapter with a stupid long delay. I was just swamped with work and that stuff._

 _-Ratty Coony_


	16. Rue II

Her bare feet touched the rain dampened pavement as the world seemed to stand still around her. She was at a country road, and he had watched some of the birds in the tree as she watched her parent's car drive away. Young Rue was just dressed in a small brown dress and nothing more. When her parents rushed her out of bed this morning, she never imagined this result. The brisk Canadian air stung her cheeks as she listened as the sounds of her parent's car slowly faded away. Just being eight years old, she was easily frightened at the sudden turn in her life. The stark contrast between the cold air and her hot tears stung her cheeks even more as she slowly walked towards the western sun. The road stung her feet as she walked along the road. She felt betrayed, but she felt even more depressed from the fact that her parents did not even look at her the entire two hour car trip. She was cold, scared, and hungry as she continued down the road. She could hear the birds singing, but this did little to comfort her as she continued to cry. There was no other vehicles within her hearing range, and she was beginning to suspect that she would die. Her dress had no pockets, nor did Rue have anything to hold.

She walked the road for about an hour before she sat down at a tree stump at the side of the road. She grew even more hungry as another hour passed with her sitting on the stump. The air thankfully warmed up a little as the sun revealed itself, but the damp air still chilled her. She was about to lose the little hope she had when she heard the faint roar of an engine. From the sheer lowness of the sound, Rue could interpret that the vehicle was very far away. Gradually, the noise amplified, until a large truck carrying lumber almost passed by her before abruptly stopping. Within the same day she was taken to an orphanage, asked about her parents, and she had began her next life. The social services people were really nice to her, but they found it hard to believe that an eight year old child wouldn't know her own last name (As Rue's parents had never told her.). At the same time, two of her future friends were in the custody of loving parents, another was being beaten, and another was running away from home.

.. **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

 _Yeah yeah yeah, I know that was about as small as [INSERT POLITICAL JOKE HERE.]. That chapter was kinda.. Well, a piece of bread in your fan fiction meal. The next chapter will be so exciting that you might transfer to the opposite sex, and it will be normal length._

 _Oh, and Reviews would still really be nice._

 _-Raccoon._


	17. CH9- Purge

For this day, Jinx is acting just to publicly announce HIVE's presence in Sylvester City. Jinx knew that HIVE sent the team here because of the lack of hero influence, but with her luck, a tower was installed pretty much the day she moved in. She planned to enact what she called 'purging.' This strategy worked well against the Titans in Jump City, up until Kid Flash showed up and ruined everything. The method she developed was to let her students go across the city and break whatever laws they wish. It split up the Titans, and that is very beneficial to the perpetrator. It was early afternoon when Jinx ordered the purge. Once the six were surfaced, they quickly split up to instil havoc to the city.

Dream Breaker, whom didn't have the necessary abilities to really be on her own, stayed with Jinx as they both traveled to the museum. Oliver traveled to the nearest bank, while Palate went to the Sylvester City School for the Arts to terrorize the students. Kodiak decided to go to the meat packing facility, and finally, Berserker simply went a few blocks west, and started destroying anything and everything he passed by.

When Snake Charmer detected HIVE's movement, Flash Jack quickly ordered Rue to make sure everyone was ready, and Rose to listen to the police dispatch. Dawnfire already felt intimidated by the situation, as she was just cheated in a duel and now she must fight again. In Tamaranean culture, it was very discouraging to have this happen, even more so in Rakka culture.

"They're splitting up." Snake Charmer said, his eyes closed shut in concentration. Flash Jack paced around a little, as Rue quietly sang to release Dawnfire of her wounds and herself from her scalp pain. Rose had remained silent through this small time, as she was scanning for activity. Everyone knew that the HIVE members splitting up would greatly complicate how the Titans would react to them. Dawnfire quickly manifested a grey-green disk underneath each of the Titans, except for herself and Rose.

"We have one at the art school." Rose said, which was responded with Dawnfire moving the group south to the school. "We have another at the meat packing facility.." Rose said as she flew by the group. Flash Jack knew that this would be a difficult day for everyone, if it wasn't already. Rose almost elected herself to handle the meat packing facility, but she knew that she was the only one able to report the places of interest. Flash Jack elected himself to report to the art school, while Snake Charmer quietly elected to go to the meat packing facility. By this time the art school was already in view, so Dawnfire sent the disk he was standing on to the front entrance before moving the rest of the group to the other side of the city.

"We have another call from Yantuit Museum." Rose said, already knowing that Rue would have to be the one to go. On the way to the meat packing facility, Rue was dropped off at the museum. It was kinda rough cut, but the Titans were being distributed through the city at a somewhat even pace. Once Snake Charmer was dropped off, the two final calls came in. One at the bank, and the other just a block from the meat packing facility. Rose quickly flew to the bank, while Dawnfire simply flew to the ground.

Flash Jack quietly entered the art school, and she saw that the place had indeed been ransacked. Several ruined paintings lay on the ground, and some of the walls had a sapped grayscale effect. He could recognize what HIVE recruit he was dealing with, and he knew that stealth would be his best chance. Although Blunt edge bullets were the staple of his ammunition, this time he was armed with bullets that would burst mid flight to spray a heavy amount of chloroform fumes towards the target. These bullets were expensive and hard to make, but the effect was very pleasing. Flash Jack saw some of the students cowering in some of the classrooms, so he took the time to quietly lead them out of the school. Luckily, this school was very prestigious, so there was only about fifty students. He wasn't exactly counting them, but he evacuated all the students that he could see. He knew that the recruit was still in the building, from the massive excess of noise in the upper level. He could assume that there still were people in danger, so he quietly made his way up to the second floor. Luckily for him, the school was built in such a way that the whole second floor was open, but the stairway was somewhat hidden. Palate had spent her time tearing all the paintings off of one wall, so she could make her own. This half of the building was just one big art studio, and for Palate, it was just that. Using her stolen color and some discarded paint, she made the whole wall into a portrait of herself. There were three students and a teacher unconscious on the floor, but Palate payed no attention to them. The portrait was slightly abstract, and at the same time it was humble. Palate was not egotistical, she just needed to practice faces. It was the police sirens that were making themselves known that caused her to turn around.

Flash Jack knew that his stealth was blown, and he quickly fired his rifle. Palate knew as soon as she saw him that some sort of projectile would come, so she quickly sent a splotch of green to protect herself. Within three breaths, Palate was unconscious. The forms made by her color were sturdy and durable, but they were very porous, and was by no means airtight. Flash Jack, satisfied with his work, slung his rifle, and he walked down the stairs to meet the police force. He hoped that his friend's encounters were this simple, but hoping could only go so far. The police were busy setting the perimeter when he walked out the door of the art school. "Sh's upstairs.. Three unconscious, two of 'em minors." He said as he walked to the nearest officer. "I got 'er." He said as the officer opened his mouth to respond. Flash Jack almost felt satisfied with his work, but he knew that there was no fight. He knew the media would spout it as if a struggle took place, and so would the color bending woman to her devil horn haired mentor. His main focus was to return to the tower, but he felt a large pang of worry for his team. He had tuned out what the officer was saying to him, but now he spoke again, interrupting the officer. "I need'a get to anotha' incident site." He said with a new feeling of duty. He actually cared about this city, instead of just being here to be here.

As soon as Snake Charmer arrived at the meat packing facility, he had instantly detected the scent of the bear he had bitten previously. The large building was also in clear disarray. Even though he used this trick commonly, using a snake as a portable video camera had served him well. He lifted his arm to slide a snake from under his sleeve, and the small snake slithered through one of the many holes in the facility. What he saw disgusted him, but it did not deter him. The floor was heavily littered with scraps of meat, blood, discarded cardboard from the packages, and the occasional bone. From the lack of human clothing, Snake Charmer could tell that no humans were killed, at least in this portion of the building. Kodiak continued his gluttony as he explored the building in search of more meat. After it seemed like he ate every scrap of cattle that he was able to see, he was almost tempted to eat a few of the workers that were hiding behind the equipment, or at least what was left of it. Snake Charmer had entered the building as his snake examined the surroundings. The shredded cardboard made it awkward for the snake to move, but Snake Charmer still knew the rough layout of the building. Kodiak could smell the newcomer, and he turned around to face Snake Charmer. He ran his tongue over the two small puncture marks on his lips where the snake man had bit him. Standing on his hind legs, Kodiak gave a mighty roar. This did well to intimidate Snake Charmer, as Kodiak's breath smelled of something rotten, and the bear's teeth were yellow and hideous. Snake Charmer, although he was intimidated, held his ground, and prepared to dive in any direction necessary. With the flick of his wrists, he manifested a few snakes to hopefully aid him in the fight. He knew that these little snakes would do very little to a bear of this size. Kodiak charged, and Snake Charmer was able to roll to his right side. This was prompting for Snake Charmer to hiss during the heat of battle. As Kodiak prepared for another charge, Snake Charmer quickly climbed on the conveyor belt to gain the higher ground. This is when he saw Kodiak charge again, which he responded with a leap into the air, that would hopefully place him on the bear's back. The timing was a bit narrower than Snake Charmer would of liked, but it did indeed place him on Kodiak's back. Kodiak, who was now realizing his mistake, was bucking in an attempt to get the snake man off of his back. The conveyor belt was destroyed as Kodiak ran through it, adding to the overall appearance of the facility. Snake Charmer was able to inject his venom into Kodiak, and it did not take long for the giant bear to revert to its human form, and simply fall to the ground. Snake Charmer wasted no time as he quickly left the building, and started the long walk home.

Dawnfire saw Berzerker before she even made it to the ground. The beast of a man had his long dirty blond hair in different braids, and was in the original HIVE outfit. His two war-axes were slashing through the parked cars with a sickening metal on metal sound. Berzerker had been rampaging heavily, and his ability grew as he continued down the street. This was shown by the mere dents on the cars graduating to be shredded metal by the end of the block. Dawnfire did not even bother to speak as she landed in front of the rampaging Norsemen. With a terrifyingly loud warcry, Dawnfire was pushed back a full twenty feet. She quickly scrambled to her feet, to which she saw Berzerker looking at her with his chest heaving. The man's face was a hardened red, showing evidence of a great amount of force being put forth. Dawnfire actually smiled. She had just been cheated in a duel, and now she could fight with honor. She planned on not using her powers, instead she would just use herself. From pure chance, Dawnfire noticed two bullet wounds on the man's chest. She assumed at least half the blood on his sweatshirt belonged to whomever fired at him. Dawnfire slowly nodded at her opponent before getting in a fighting stance. With a roar, Berzerker charged with his braids flowing behind his head. It was about then that Dawnfire realized that the man could lob her head off with a single swing. This was not like fighting another Tamaranean, where there was room for mistakes. This was different, if she was too slow, she could die without a second chance. Berserker's first attack was his left hatchet aimed for Dawnfire's neck. She narrowly avoided it by taking a step backwards. She still refused to use her powers, despite the prominent danger. Dawnfire quickly kicked the raging man in the chest, providing more space for the two battlers. Dawnfire let out a low growl before charging at Berzerker. She was quick enough to dodge the hatchet that was being brought down vertically, while still being able to deliver a jaw shattering blow to the brute. He was knocked to the ground, but instead of simply staying on the ground, he quickly scrambled to his feet. The mishapenness of his broken jaw quickly formed normal as he lifted his hatchets again. Dawnfire actually felt rage as she clenched her fists. The idea of a regenerating opponent frustrated her, but luckily it would result in a better fight.

Rose's work was very straight forward. All the citizens had evacuated the bank (as Oliver had shown a fake grenade to get his necessary space.), and from Rose's heat signature scan, the creeper was in the vents. He crawled around with haunting speed as Rose pondered on how to capture him. Oliver had no idea that the robot had entered the bank, nor was he prepared. He had a single burlap sack of cash slung across his back, and his escape plan was to escape through the roof. However, Oliver struggled to carry the cash, as he himself was very light. Suddenly, the section of air vent that Oliver was crawling through came loose, and came crashing to the ground. Rose was expecting a fight, but the impact was enough to effectively knock Oliver into submission. Rose easily picked up the man, and she threw him to the police that were late to respond. She didn't stick around to answer any questions as she simply flew into the air towards the tower. She felt like she had the quickest experience of anyone, since in Rose's eyes, Oliver had no chance against her. Oliver didn't even expect any resistance from the Titans, although everyone else in his 'class' did. He relied too much on his stealth, and he didn't count on the robot being the one to come for him.

Rue was petrified as she stood outside the front door of the museum. She had no idea who to expect, but she hoped in vain that this was simply a false alarm. Inhaling deeply, she slowly opened the door to see the bare lobby of the building. As quietly as she could, she walked deeper into the empty building. She saw a few opened cases with the contents removed, and she had assumed that this was the dealings of whomever she was soon to fight. She was the only non-fighter in a group of elite fighters, and this fact sunk in as she spotted her targets. Jinx, and the red haired woman that had possessed a sleeping body which had attempted to harm her. She could barely fend for herself and now she had to take on two opponents, one of them being able to wipe out her whole team... By herself. It was then that she had an idea. She had never tried this before, and if she was wrong about it, she would give her position away for nothing.

"He was six foot six and weighed two forty five, He was broad in the shoulders and narrow in the hip, but everyone knew you didn't give no lip to Big John."

Both Dream Breaker and Jinx turned their head to Rue as she finished the tune. Jinx was about to say something as she saw someone else round the corner to join Rue. He was a giant black man with a pickaxe and a miner's helmet. Rue was actually surprised that it worked, and she quickly cowered behind her savior as Dream Breaker cowered behind Jinx. As Rue rushed to remember another verse of the song, Jinx herself stuttered at the towering man. She hadn't seen a man this big since her time with Mammoth. Rue failed to remember anything relevant with the song, but she saw that Big John was stepping towards the two criminals. Jinx as agile enough to dodge the pickaxe, and so was Dream Breaker. Rue had enough time to slam the both of them into a wall, but she wanted to try this power some more.

"The lot of Lachlan Tigers, a pain to see they are,

They will break your every finger and beat you near and far!"

With this, Big John slowly faded away as a pack of men dressed with the pelts of tigers erupted from the corridors. They sped past Rue, and to the two now cowering opponents. They were all agile, and it didn't take long for Jinx to be taken to the ground. Dream Breaker quickly sprinted away from the men dressed in tiger pelts, but she was soon tackled by one of the 'Lachlan Tigers'.

"I have won the fight I wished to avoid,

Now my spell will be null and void." Rue sang, causing all the men to fade away. She was surprised that she could do that, and she felt a little more confident in her ability. She looked to the bruised Jinx on the ground when she yawned. Jinx let out a groan of pain as she could feel that at least one rib was broken. Dream Breaker wasn't quite as savagely beaten as Jinx was, but she still had trouble standing up. Dream Breaker stared intently at Rue, while Rue simply thought of another folk song to sing to summon a friend. When Rue yawned again and felt drowsy, she could tell something was wrong.

"I... The..." Rue sputtered as she felt increasingly drowsy. Dream Breaker smiled as Rue fell on her back. She knelt down to the singer, and she continued to peer into her eyes, until she was unconscious. With a sigh, she turned around to Jinx who was struggling to stand.

"See if you can carry her." Jinx said as she finally managed to stand. The tiger people had beaten her heavily. They almost seemed like zombies, in the sense that they didn't have any comprehension on what they were doing. By no means was Dream Breaker strong, and carrying someone her own size was a intimidating task in itself. Dream Breaker assumed that Jinx would be of no help, so she didn't even ask. Dream Breaker struggled, but she eventually managed to get Rue on her shoulders, while managing to keep her asleep with her powers. Jinx grunted in pain as she saw the daunting task of leaving the building, possibly with the police and the other Titans meeting them. Jinx worked hard to think of a plan, as Dream Breaker worked even harder to haul Rue's sleeping body to the exit. Going to jail wasn't too bad of a thing, as once Jinx would recover, it would be very easy to escape, especially with Dream Breaker. When the police lights became visible to the two, the two HIVE members looked to each other in recognition to the fact that they were caught. Dream Breaker gently laid Rue on the ground before putting her hands in the air. She thought about implanting a nightmare into Rue just for fun, and it didn't seem like that bad of an idea. There was no time for a dream, so it would be more of a vision. Rue then scrambled awake, having just had what could compare to a night terror. Jinx knew that under the right conditions she could escape, but she was in a state that barely allowed her to walk, much less run or jump.

The fight between Dawnfire and Berzerker lasted long enough for the onlookers to take a video recording of the match. Dawnfire eventually managed to toss the brute across the road, and with the help of a car, put him into an unwilling sleep.

With all six of the instigators in a heavily guarded at the prison, the purge was over. It was a silent understanding that they would soon escape, but as usual, the media put a good spin on it. All five heroes quickly returned to the tower, all though it took no time at all for Rose and Dawnfire. Rue was the third one to arrive, and as she was still somewhat shaken up from the vision she had received. Flash Jack and Snake Charmer returned about a half hour after Rue, and so far everyone was in the living room in a calm, and relaxing silence. Dawnfire was by far the most physically damaged of the group, but she didn't complain about it, or even ask Rue to help with it. The News report finally aired, but what was seen shocked all the Titans but Rue. It was not the fact that Rue was unconscious in the video, but that Jinx and Dream Breaker were horribly beaten. Rue was quiet about it, but she considered the encounter a loss, just because of Dream Breaker rendered her unconscious. As all of the heroes sat on the couch to watch the television, everyone thought about what Rue could of done to do that much damage to the criminals. Rue was disheartened though, as all of her comrades had decisive victories, while she lost. Dawnfire was still sore, and so was Snake Charmer.

As video footage of Dawnfire's fight with Berzerker was aired, Flash Jack abruptly went to the elevator, as the other four Titans simply enjoyed the moment of peace. For now, the city was safe from threat, assuming the prison workers are smart enough to sedate the six villains. It was a bitter thought, but the Titans knew that with the incompetency of the prisons, the HIVE members will escape within the following days. Snake Charmer almost suggested that they storm the bunker, but the door was sealed shut. The mood of the tower shifted constantly, as the Titans were happy about the victory, but disappointed at the futility.

. **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So, school's started, that's why this chapter took wayyyyy to long to post. Also, I am working on another story as a side project, the response seems pretty good for it, the stats are good as well. I would hope that you'd check it out._

 _And I'm sorry about the end of the chapter being really awkward, I kinda took a week long break between paragraphs. So please just hang in there with me._

 _-A very tired Raccoon._


	18. Rue III

."I was abandoned when I was so young,

All the love that my parents gave was quickly flung.

I was given to the orphanage some time later,

But the nicest people there was its maker.

I was beaten and I was bruised,

So I quickly left so I can leave the abuse.

I ran to the south in search of warmer weather,

On my walks I would sing, but this is strange as ever.

If I went to school I'm sure I'll be good in choir,

But something very strange occurred when I kept singing higher.

I had become the author of the world and my voice the pen,

I could kill any bear in or out of its den.

But I had killed a bus full of people who at me they gawked,

I had to run further south or the police to me they would flock.

It is for the better that now I hide,

For I am the most dangerous person up until I died.

To my mother and my father I would like to say,

If I ever find you I swear you will rue the day.

But I wouldn't count on it, as here I will remain,

So for your suffering I must refrain.

So now I'm staying here until the day I die,

But if I see the chance to redeem the bus I won't let it by.

Now this is the end to my song,

And I see no way to right my wrong. "

.. **RACCOON'S NOTE.**

 _For about what seems like a year, I've been thinking about where to take the story, and to be honest, making words is hard. So I'm sorry if I take too long to update._


	19. CH10- Weeds

All five of the Titans knew that HIVE would return soon. Rue spent her independent training time researching songs and doing rhyme drills, Snake Charmer and Flash Jack spent their time working out in the gym and simulation room, Dawnfire increased her stamina by flexing her powers, and finally Rose spent her time adding new gadgets to her body. At this point, Rose was able to stretch her body to be three inches taller than the highest member, who happened to be Flash Jack, who was closely followed by Dawnfire and Snake Charmer.

Rose's body was far more sophisticated than before, as now, she had the ability to change her height, arm span, and finger structure. All were to intimidate and make climbing easier. With some modifications to her jets, she was now able to carry people heavier than Rue. She also put some more security measures on herself to prevent Oliver or any other stealthy criminal from disabling her.

Rue felt more confident in her ability, and this is from her experiment with summoning folk characters. She considered making her own, but she agreed with herself that this was too dangerous. It had been two days since the HIVE's purge, and she was relieved every hour when HIVE stayed behind bars. She spent most of these days in conversation with her teammates, especially Flash Jack. For some reason she looked up to him in more ways than just a team leader. She felt like he had been there for longer than he was. She was in her room practicing her violin when she decided to start singing an old folk song originating from England.

She sang, boosting her own spirits. This song was also heard by Dawnfire, who was in her room talking with Starfire through her communicator. She dared not to take too much of her time, as the situation at Titans North was increasingly worse, as Jericho was still not found, and Herald the leader had a hard time dealing with it. They greeted one another with a "Juax Sonta", a Tamaranean saying. Today was such a holiday to deem this necessary. To Dawnfire, Starfire visibly looked worse than the last time they met. Clearly she was overworked.

Snake Charmer barely left the workout room for the last two days. Other than to eat and sleep, he was training his body. He'd been practicing his climbing skills on the rock wall at the side of the room, and he had gotten notably faster at climbing it. He felt as if he was relying less on his snakes, and more on himself, as his fight with Kodiak did not require any snake other than Snake Charmer himself. He didn't know if this was a good thing or a bad thing, but it never hurted to improve his own body for combat. He hadn't had too much time to talk to Rose, or anyone other than Flash Jack, who would often join him in the training area.

Flash Jack spent much of his time in his room making bullets, his favorite thing to do when he needed to think. He hummed with the machinery's rhythm as he made more blunt edge bullets. With more bullets than he would need for a long time, he stood up, turned off his machinery, and turned his attention to his rifle. He had been thinking about making what's called a flip scope. Basically, the scope would be on a hinge, and he could simply flip it on when he needed to use it, otherwise, it would take up very little space on the right side of the weapon. With a little help from Rose, he made the modification, and his idea worked better than he had hoped. He would spend the next two hours carefully sighting in his weapon, while Dawnfire watched him silently.

Dawnfire's perception of Flash Jack had been prominent in her mind. Her body was still bruised from the fight, but she wore them proudly, and with honor. She rubbed a large bruise on her left shoulder as she watched Flash Jack fire at some targets he set up in the simulation room. She dared not to say anything to interrupt him, so eventually she lost interest and left.

The next four days were uneventful, despite the certainty that the HIVE members would eventually escape. But, there was another problem, and it was Rue. She finally told her team what she did to defend herself from Jinx and Dream Breaker, and for a good reason this concerned both Flash Jack and Rose.

The two Titans were alone in the main computer room when Rose finally brought up the problem. The issue had been on her mind for a long time, while Flash Jack simply chose to ignore it until it became a problem.

"We don't know what Rue can do." Rose said the instant she saw that the two of them were alone.

This rang true to Flash Jack, and he had thought about the subject, despite his unwillingness to. He stayed silent as Rose's metallic body towered over his already tall stature.

"For all we know, she could end existence with just one song." Rose said after, attempting to get Flash Jack to respond.

Thinking for a moment, he replied. "Would she want to?" He asked as he crossed his arms. "That lass that brought 'er in had somethin' to do with ending the world." He said, recalling a conversation he had with Robin about his team. "And she didn't." He said looking up to the robotic face.

"It's easier for Rue, from what I know, Raven needed outside help." Rose said, using a slightly sterner voice.

"An' what reason does Rue 'ave to end it all?" Flash Jack quickly responded, his voice growing stern as well.

"It's the fact that she has the ability to do such a thing.. this is why I want to do something about it." Rose said with her body frowning. She hated to admit such a thing, but she felt as though that Rue needed to be restrained, if not killed.

Flash Jack was moved by the argument, as Rue had to be the most dangerous thing that he would ever meet. Scratching his chin, he took a long pause before speaking. "What do ya propose?"

Mad Mod curled up on the small bed, facing away from the cell's bars. His face was greatly beaten and bruised, and he was visibly shaken. His Union Jack suit was ripped and torn, and his face was swelled to the point of him being unable to see the damage. This was given to him by the Australian Subject who would feed him, and savagely beat him most cases. During the beatings, the man would softly rant about either a 'grandfa' or a 'gramma', so which Mad Mod assumed meant 'Grandfather' and 'Grandmother' in the King's English. Mad Mod was smart enough to know the obvious conclusion, and that was that this man had some sort of traumatic experience having to do with his grandparents. This was very bad news to Mad Mod, as within a few days, his youth would wear off, and he would be returned to his elderly state, which would most likely send the Australian to even deeper fury. He attempted to call for help when he heard a computer like voice pass by the room, but so far, the man who was beating him was the only one that entered the prison room. He's tried fighting back, but his frail frame was no match for his abuser's semi-muscular body. Whomever was the grandparents of this man was, Mad Mod was certain that he could thank them for this Hell.

When evening came, Snake Charmer quickly retired to his room, as he needed time to watch the city. Sitting down in the middle of the large atrium he had as a room, he closed his eyes, and he watched the city through the eyes of his snakes. It was through this method that his mindset was shaken about the Titans just being props. The city did indeed have crime, especially since the HIVE base moved in. Street crime was low, but it was present. Every so often, a snake would bite a mugger, causing them to fall where he stood to wait for police. The biggest impact he had tonight was when he lead a young boy back to his mother who had gotten lost while gazing into the lights of the city. The city did indeed light up during the night, especially when news got out of the Titan victory. During his overwatch of the city, Snake Charmer spent much of the time just pondering. Holding the city to a safe standard was in a way king of the hill. As of now they were winning, but he knew at any second someone else could take the spot of control. He assumed that this cycle would repeat itself, of being in and out of control. Surely this was the same process for the other towers. But in the case of Sylvester City, one hundred percent of the villains were in custody, and everyone seemed to know it would not stay like this for long. Snake Charmer had a suspicion that HIVE would send more fighters, as the city bore many valuable items that were usually held in low security museums. If it wasn't HIVE, it would be someone else. It was through this reflection that Snake Charmer felt some worth. If it was not for the Titans being here, Sylvester City would be the lowest hanging fruit of all the tree.

Jinx refused to admit to herself that she had no chance to make any of her students other than Dream Breaker as good as herself. She refused to acknowledge it, but she was able to at least think about it. She thought Oliver would drop out of HIVE to become an independent cat burglar, Palate would probably end up working for hive, Kodiak would leave to do his own thing, and finally Berserker would definitely do something stupid to get himself killed. About an hour ago she woke up to find herself on a medical bed. She knew she was heavily sedated, as she had no ability to even move her arms above her body. With her limited vision, she saw that herself, and all five of her students were wearing prison uniforms. She hated to be dressed in such a way, but this goes with losing the fight. What the singing girl did was indeed startling to be apart of, and for now on that Titan was not to be underestimated. From the fact that all five of the other prisoners were asleep, Jinx assumed she was supposed to be asleep as well. She managed to roll her head to the right to see the copper haired woman in the bed next to her. If Dream Breaker managed to wake up, she could possess another recruit, and they could easily escape. With great effort, Jinx spent some more time looking around the room. This place looked like a prison, and from the fact that there were several IV stands around each HIVE member, it seemed like they were meant to keep a prisoner sedated for several days at a time. She was about to yell for Dream Breaker to awake (if she could.), but a doctor looking man came in to change her IV bag, then she quickly felt herself falling into unconsciousness again. If she could even hold on to a thought, she would know that Dream Breaker would be smart enough to possess someone's body if she was ever awake. The good news was that she had a way out of here, the bad news was that this city seemed to be able to catch on to criminal escapes.

For the city as a whole, nothing too important happened for three days if celebrity endeavors were not taken into account. For the Titans, it was slightly different. Both Rose and Flash Jack were paranoid of Rue, Rue was happy, Dawnfire was proud, and Snake Charmer was watching the city. There wasn't that much to be upset about, as the prison actually accepted Flash Jack's request to keep the HIVE members sedated. The media had been hassling them for interviews almost nonstop, and the Titans tried to comply, but all of them refused to give too much Information about their lives before being Titans. Much to Dawnfire's happiness, the video of her fight had made big news, and the city had seemed to appreciate all five of them. It was the fourth morning of no events taking place when the event that Flash Jack had been waiting for happened. In downtown Sylvester City, a police officer was found dead, with a spear through his heart. Flash Jack knew who it was, and so did Snake Charmer, as he was the only other Titan that knew about Flash Jack's shadow.

Rose was sent to investigate the scene, with Snake Charmer closely following. Despite both Flash Jack and Snake Charmer knowing that this was for Flash Jack's attention, Flash Jack elected to stay at the tower with the other two Titans. They would have to be prepared, as what was coming next can be predicted. More killings, bombings, all escalating until Flash Jack finally stopped Zulu. Of course, the police were very non-descriptive when describing the spear, so if Flash Jack told the group about this part of his past and it was not indeed Zulu, this would be a needless pry into his past life. He was committed to the Titans at this point, this was him now. This was built from his relationship with Rose almost as a mother, his relationship with Snake Charmer almost like a brother, his relationship with Rue, almost as a daughter, and finally Dawnfire. He dared not call it anything, but he could see that the alien was curious of him in several ways. They've spent time talking about their lives as children, although both were very private about it, as neither talked about their parents.

Rue had looked up to Flash Jack from the beginning, from when he defended her from Dawnfire, and from his general leadership ability. Her mood had been lifted greatly since her last battle, and she felt like she had a way of winning any fight, as long as she could memorize a song. For an unknown reason, she constantly caught herself thinking about when Dream Breaker gave her that night terror while she was unconscious. What bothered her the most about it was the fact that she could not remember anything from it, as all she knew was that it had scared her deeply.

A picture of the spear was uploaded to the main Titan computer shortly after Rose investigated, and the spear was somewhat short, with one double edged blade shaped almost like an elongated heart. It was Zulu. Which meant that more was to come, for the city and the Titans.

.. **Raccoon's Note:**

 _Brah! I'm back, and thank you to all of you who reviewed! TheFoolOnMelancholyHill And Tulula-Mate, you two are pretty awesome, and you are my main motivation to continue the story._

 _Speaking of the story, it will eventually end. It will break my heart, but it will end. But that's okay, because right now, my other story is pretty good according to some, and I have a crossover idea that I'm putting some thought into._

 _Anyway, that's about all I have to say right now, thanks for reading this far! Please review with ideas, comments, and whatever._

 _-Coon out!_


	20. CH11- Lovely Old Friends

"We could've known about this sooner." Rose said, keeping her voice calm as she scolded Flash Jack for his lack of warning.

"I diddn think he'd follow me!" Flash Jack retorted, his drawl becoming more prominent as he rose his voice. "An' if he did he'd come to me first!"

"What are we to do?" Dawnfire asked from behind Flash Jack. Rose and Snake Charmer had recently returned with the investigation pending, and Flash Jack was forced to reveal that the city is in greater danger than the HIVE had so far offered.

"We need'a call the city and tell 'em that there'r bombs in the area." He said after thinking for a moment. "An' I need to make sure that all four of you stay outta this.. He'll just kill ya if yer in the way." He said, turning to both Snake Charmer and Rue who had remained silent during this time. His expression remained plain, but Inside his heart was bleeding.

"What makes you so sure that we can't handle ourselves against him?" Rose said skeptically, even though her robotic voice remained monotone.

"He plans ahead." Flash Jack said crossing his arms. "An' he's bloody good at it. I could'a been dead right now if he really wanted.." He admitted, his eyes darting around the room from behind his glasses. "But without me, he don' have anything to do except to die."

Rue couldn't help but think that she was glad that Flash Jack cared this much, but she still felt like he was leaving something out. Dawnfire stood next to the Australian, ready to defend him from Rose, should she scold him further. Snake Charmer, although looking to Flash Jack as a brother, remained neutral in the conflict.

"Let us not scold Flash Jack for his secrecy. We all have secrets of our own. It is doubtful that this secret is the only secret this team holds." Dawnfire said, stepping forward towards Rose a small bit. Flash Jack was humbled, but in a strange way he felt honored to be defended by Dawnfire in such a vital way.

"But why keep something like this private?" Rose quickly retorted, knowing from both Rue's and Snake Charmer's expressions that they were not totally against her. "All it did was put us, and the city in danger."

"What are we going to do about it?" Snake Charmer asked, somewhat annoyed with Rose's confrontation.

"Call the mayor to warn the city, and see if we can call in extra help from the Titans?" Rue humbly stated.

"I'd think that every Titan is occupied with somethin'.. If they're not out looking for Jericho." Flash Jack said, scratching his beard, as he was still somewhat shaken from Rose's lecture.

"I'll contact the mayor." Rose said as she had de-extended her legs to make herself eye level with her team once again. She had said a few things that were things not to be said, but as of now she was in no mood to apologize. She was upset, and she could tell that Flash Jack was upset as well. She hated these kinds of secrets, since if this knowledge was known, there would be much less of a threat. Exiting the room, the other four Titans exchanged a long look at one another before Snake Charmer spoke.

"Where are we going to find available help?" He asked, not bothering to even think of Rose.

"Something tells me the mayor won't exactly donate too many people to help find bombs that may or may not exist." Rue said after him.

"I know of one Titan that can help us." Dawnfire said crossing her arms. She had done a fair amount of research into Titan history, and this is the time it payed off.

"An' who is it?" Flash Jack said, feeling a small pang of potent hope.

"Jinx." Dawnfire said, showing no evidence that she would be joking.

There was a long pause before anyone else spoke. Both Rue and Snake Charmer were unable to respond as they balanced the statement. Flash Jack was about to offer a rebuttal, but Snake Charmer had beat him to it.

"What can we offer her?" He said, knowing that there will only be one thing she wanted. Freedom. Perhaps a second chance.

Flash Jack had been torn between his options. He could just ignore the problem, and wait until the bombs go off to act. He could also search the city with the help of law enforcement and hope that they stumble across most of the bombs. Asking Robin for help was out of the question, as Jericho was much more valued than the needs of the new Titans here. The last option was to make a deal with Jinx to help in the search. Someone who had graduated HIVE would have to know basic terrorism tactics, such as bomb placement. But to the leader of this tower, making a deal with Jinx is almost the same thing as making a deal with the Devil.

Jinx was surprised to wake up with company. At first they were just blurry, nondescript blurs. But as Jinx's eyes focused, she could clearly see two Titans. The tall bearded shooter, and the fiery red haired Tamaranian. She was laying down in the same hospital bed, with both of her hands handcuffed to it. From what she could remember, she was not in the last room that she remembered herself waking up in. This looked like some sort of medical room, like the last one, but smaller and more controlled. Almost like a visitor's room in an insane asylum, minus the screaming. It wasn't that though, as there was not a padded wall to be seen, and there had to be some law against loony bins keeping their patients unconscious 100% of the time, or at least to try such a thing. Eventually, Jinx was able to open her eyes all the way, and she found that she was able to speak.

"Wh…" She managed to say, quickly finding that her throat is devoid of any liquid.

"Umm.. 'Ell, morrow to you." Flash Jack stated as he had stood over the bed.

Dawnfire was much more direct, as she had started with a bit more of a confrontational tone. "We require your assistance." She said, not using the slightest bit of context to further explain the situation.

Flash Jack sighed as he crossed his arms. "We 'ave somethin' that you could help us out in.." He said as he briefly looked to his alien companion. "An' as leader of my tower, I'm able to make a deal with you."

Jinx immediately rolled her eyes. It didn't take long for these new Titans to ask for help. It took her a short while to even realize that she doesn't know what the offer is.

"Here's what I 'ave." Flash Jack started. "You help us search for bombs, an' I give you yer freedom with a bus ticket to Jump." He said with his arms still folded. "I'll even nominate you to be a Titan agan' if you prefer."

Jinx had to take a moment to prepare her throat, but she also had to take this… Offer seriously. "My team?" She asked, not even having the energy to lift her head from the hospital pillow.

"Prison." Dawnfire said abruptly. "They have little to offer us."

Jinx felt a pang of feeling, as not once had she called these five recruits a 'team' before. Not out loud anyway. "Fine. Tell me about the bombs." She then said, clearly having gained her vocal capability.

Flash Jack dreaded the thought of speaking of Zulu in front of his team, much less Jinx, but to his relief Dawnfire spoke.

"A known Terrorist is free in this city. He has made what we perceive as a threat to the Titans, and according to our intelligence, he may of planted bombs across the city." Dawnfire said, starting off quick, but slowing down as she remembered Jinx's condition. She had already interpreted her companion's discomfort, and thus she volunteered herself to explain.

"Yea.. We were thinkn' that you may know where ta look.. Since.. 'Ell your background." Flash Jack added, now showing no effort to hide his nervousness. He had tried to remain calm in front of his team, and his enemies. Now in front of his second in command and a criminal that could hold the key to thousands of lives he found that he could not hold himself up. Before he was fine working the way he did, as anyone he talked to would quickly exit from his life in one form or another. Back home he mostly talked to the police, a few criminals, and some saved victims offering him a well earned dinner. He was thinking that he was a fool for volunteering.. Insisting rather that he should be leader when Dawnfire turned to exit the room. Like a dull fool he followed, not looking to Jinx.

Dawnfire quickly flagged down a guard as Flash Jack watched from the side of the door. From what he could interpret, is that during his stupor, a deal was made, and now would be the time that Jinx would be free to either run away or help. At this point Flash Jack was forfeiting his cares to a degree. All this doubt he was feeling was from the small fact that he absolutely hated speaking of Zulu. He took a moment to close his eyes and release the pressure when he heard Dawnfire's voice again.

"You require help?" She asked to him.

"Y-.. Na.. I'm fine.. Just a tad.. "

"You show displeasure when you speak of Zulu." Dawnfire said crossing her arms.

"Yes." He said as he looked away from his friend. "But as've now that is none of our concern."

"I am skeptical that Jinx can help us." Dawnfire said, bringing up something that was indeed concerning her. "This city is quite large, and we have very little knowledge of it. Our best hope is what the city itself can do." She said with a present overtone of doubt. "Are you certain that Zulu would bomb the city?"

"Each time I'd move he'd follow an' bomb the town. Each time I could find the bomb, but those were small towns.. This is a city." He replied. "He's doing this for me."

 **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

 _So... Yeah.. Work and school have been stupid. Chapters are going to be few and far between, and my imagination is taking a hit. Any ideas, any ideas at all would be bloody nice._

 _Have a good bloody day._

 _A morally depleted Raccoon._


	21. CH12- My own shadow

The government and Rose had a clear barrier whist communicating. With no proof that the bombs even exist, the mayor refused to send two officers much less the national guard to search for the bombs. With Rose hardly having faith that the bombs were there to begin with, the plea for help started and ended there. Despite Snake Charmer's field of vision, there are many places a snake is unable to reach. The underside of bridges, the insides of most buildings, he knew that there could be merit to Flash Jack's suspicions.

Rue thought, and ended up trying to simply sing a song to find the bombs, but each song she sung had no effect. No effect that she could see anyway. She then sang to deliver the now hopefully unarmed bombs to the front of the tower in perfect view of her window, but after the song nothing happened. She knew of course that there are not enough words in the entire English language to accomplish such a feat. But she instead covers this fact with a lie to herself that the bombs simply never existed. Being in denial, she played on her violin alone in her room. She needed to make herself believe the lie, so she tried singing again. And like the last attempt, nothing took place. Throughout her discovery of her ability, she had found that her powers were very select in that they could do. As far as she knew, she could summon creatures, control the mind of animals, use basic telepathy, and finally make ghostly beings in order to tell a story.

For the time being, there was no other signs of the terrorist called Zulu. From Flash Jack's description, he should be prominently displayed in his flamboyantly obvious outfit somewhere in the city, but no such sighting was made. Not even by Snake Charmer. Although a deal was secured with Jinx, Flash Jack felt like at least someone would die. He knew that he wouldn't be the one. But one of his friends would. Rue would be the last one that he would want gone, followed closely by Dawnfire. He hated to rank his friends like this, but this was what was seen by the outside world, instead of what he thought inside.

When Jinx, Dawnfire, and Flash Jack entered the tower together, that's where the tower truly was under stress.

Rose knew that Flash Jack intended to exist the help of Jinx, but she did not even consider that the plan would actually follow through. "You're taking her back." She said as she crossed her metallic arms, mainly doing this as an act of intimidation. All the Titans, former and freshly recruited were in the lobby, where the argument blossomed.

"She knows where to put'a bomb." Flash Jack replied, taking a even tone. At this, Rose extended her legs so she was taller than the tall sharpshooter.

"You released the most dangerous human in the city to look for bombs that probably don't exist." She replied, in a cooler, but flat tone. Anything she said was calculated, as she chose her exact time for every situation. And her tone could be described as confrontational as of now.

Jinx thought about adding to the conversation, but she knew that her input would hardly matter. Especially since the amount of times she had switched between bad and good.

The argument carried on, mainly between Flash Jack and Rose. Nobody else dared chime in, not even Dawnfire who had already proven to be Flash Jack's closest ally. Once Jinx opened her mouth to speak, but Rose's near featureless face shut her down. It almost looked like a grey alien face, the way the 'eyes' were large. Rue had to be the most offended by the scene out of everyone.

"Her students are still in captivity." Snake Charmer said quietly, his arms folded and himself pushed to the back of the group. "Therefore she would have no reward for executing any crimes." He didn't know this for sure, but from what he interpreted, Jinx's assignment was indeed to teach, not to control the city. That was her student's job. Jinx hated being talked about as if she wasn't there, but this would ring true to her. She nodded.

The conversation continued for a long while long, just resulting in terrible, fruitless conversation loops. It was early evening when the inhabitants of the tower finally stopped arguing as a group. Everyone almost wanted to hate Rose, but some hated Flash Jack for his blunt actions. Jinx was made to sleep on the couch. As most of the inhabitants expected, the morning came uneventfully. The longer the city remained free of an explosion or some form of terrorizing act, the less accountability Flash Jack had. As the day grew longer, his followers and his skeptics grew impatient with him. It was already about to blow up when Rose discovered Mad Mod.

It was a swift affair, Rose along with Snake Charmer forcefully disarming Flash Jack and shoving him into one of the other holding cells. He lost his temper. He was howling and swearing the whole process. Rose, remembering the basics of Flash Jack's equipment, quickly stripped him of any belts or any sort of vessel. It happened too quickly for anyone to really think about it, but for some reason everyone knew Flash Jack was beating the elderly man. It somehow seemed to fit. Everyone was able to imagine this being Flash Jack's doing, although they hated to admit it.

The tower was instantly plunged into what can be described as 'soft chaos'. Rose quickly instilled lockdown on the tower, the outside world cannot know about Flash Jack's incarceration, or anything for that matter. Rose had been shown to be a tyrant. Of course, she was never meant to be in any sort of leadership position, and Dawnfire, the previous official second in command, was discredited for being Flash Jack's biggest supporter. The day was still young, but it seemed to end quickly. Jinx was still not to be trusted, Rue hid in her room, Snake Charmer did the same, and Dawnfire wandered the tower. She seemed to be hit the hardest by the reveal, and she would take the time to visit Flash Jack if Rose allowed. The city graced the Titans by being quiet, as the team in this state would be unable to save a cat out of a tree much less stop a robbery.

Jinx had spent her time sitting on the couch, remaining silent. Most of the time Rose was in the room with her. If the robot breathed the sound may of driven her mad. "You should call the mother tower for support." She said to Rose, breaking the deafening silence.

"They're too busy to help." Rose said quickly, using the same monotone voice she had been using for days. She was standing statue in front of the elevator, her metallic arms crossed.

Dawnfire had been wandering the tower since Flash Jack had been confined. Her heart was sore, and she felt hopeless. She wanted to invest more in the team, but to her this seemed empty without him. She knew that Rose had been acting strange, but the stress had changed everyone. Since everyone walked into the front door they have all changed a little.

Dawnfire had completely pushed the imaginary bombs out of her mind. They didn't exist outside of Flash Jack's imagination. It was finally about the time when Dawnfire returned to her room, when she decided to invest a little time into her living space. She had spent some time carving and painting designs onto the walls, along with a mix of Celtic and Tamaranian writing. Poetry, sayings, and certain lines along the walls. There were symbols too. Depictions of animals, on this world and others. All contrasting the grey walls with their brilliant mint-green color. She smiled at the already nearly filled walls. Above her doorway, something new. It was an vertical oval with three lines through it. The meaning of it was not known, as well as its origins. This was normal, as sometimes she would paint something because it's pretty on the eyes. But this symbol was not additive to the wall.

Of course Flash Jack was worried. To him, the bombs were still a real threat. He was stripped of all his equipment outside of a small pocket knife in his boot. The British man to the cell next to him was still in some sort of denial state. It wasn't until the morning after that anyone came to see Flash Jack, and that someone was Rose.

"They don't want to follow me, but they don't want to follow you either." She said as she closed the door behind her.

"Then maybe you sh'ud ask 'em what they think." He said, looking up at the robot from the seated position at the far wall. Dawnfire wanted to be a leader, but he knew this desire would be somewhat expired.

"I don't care what they think. I care about what you think."

Flash Jack stuttered. "There's only one man that I know that would."

"Did you really think leaving Australia would deter me?"

"It's you."

"It's me."

"Even you have a limit. 'Nd you haven't seemed to cross it yet. But usually a bomb or two would go off."

"Bombs? I've graduated Flash Jack.. Seeing as though I hacked your friend here, I think you should expect more of me."

"Well, at least yer not Rose."

"Rose was hardly ever here."

"She's back into her coma?"

"She's dead. She's been dead since the little hacker turned her off. I found my way in, and I let her run the show until I've decided to actually kill her."

Flash Jack wanted to react. But he knew that reacting in this situation would grant him nothing but his cool cover being blown in front of Zulu. "What do you want?"

"What I want is not relevant. I am going to dismantle your team, one member at a time. Is there a member that you would want me to kill last?"

"Leave me."

"Never."

 **RACCOON'S NOTE:**

So, first of all, I'm sorry.

That took a while to get out, and since I'm getting even less free time, get ready for less updates.

So how about a cliffhanger?


	22. CH13- Why Rose Has Changed

"He's lost his sanity." Zulu said to the three Titans and Jinx. "From what I can tell, the stress has caused him to go mad."

"We've all gone mad. A little bit anyway." Said Rue.

"We're taking Jinx back, and then we shall remain idle until we receive orders from central." Said Zulu, turning the robot's head to Jinx, who had been silently leaning against the wall of the lobby.

"You're lacking leadership." She replied, now formulating a plan to force her way into the Titan ranks once again. "You're all green. Your previous leader suffered a mental breakdown, and your current one has turned out to be a-"

"A what?" Zulu replied, his own body laughing, but not betraying the robot's cool exterior.

"Does it matter?" Snake Charmer quickly stated. "There are no bombs, no real time limit. We just need to make sure the city doesn't fall apart while we wait for Robin to elect a new leader."

"Let's hope Jericho is found soon." Spoke Zulu. "He'll see that Jinx cannot be one of us again."

It was early morning when Dream Breaker finally had her chance. She only had to open her eyes for a split second before she took over Kodiak's body. Immediately tearing the IV drops from all of her peers, she (or he) props one of the medical tables against the door. Looking at her own sleeping body, she leaves Kodiak's own body, to return to her own. "Wake up wake up.." Says she nervously as she stands up from the bed, feeling quite dizzy as she does. Her body has not moved for quite some time, so naturally she needed to rest for a moment. "Come on, someone wake up."

"Yes… Yes…" Palate said as she started to rub her face. "I'm… Up." She said, turning over to see her brother still asleep. His little frail body was weak to defend against the drugs. "It'll be a while until he wakes up."

"Shake the others awake." Dream Breaker said, her feet just now hitting the cold white tile of the floor. Palate responded by stripping the floor of its white color and slapping the other HIVE recruits with it. After a slow fifteen minutes, the five of them were walking about. Dream Breaker, whom had elected herself as the honorary leader, had been watching the hallways from the little window on the barricaded door.

"I say it's time for our promotion." Kodiak said, still having the same headache.

"Meaning?" Palate responded, twirling white and black between her hands.

"I get a helmet." Berzerker said surprisingly quietly. "It's time for our uniforms."

"Nobody's going to ask where Jinx is?" Oliver asked, breaking his silent streak of a couple weeks.

"Who cares? Anything beats this hospital smock." Dream Breaker said with a smile.

Palate sat back down on the bed, her arms crossed. "And we're just going to walk into a store and ask for costumes?" She asked with a big overlay of skepticism.

"Is that what Jinx would do?" Dream Breaker asked with a tone of irony.

"Do any of us know anything about tailoring?" Kodiak asked. To which Oliver humbly raised his hand. "Alright, we could find a hideout, and have a bit of a graduation." He said, looking to Dream Breaker.

"I'm going to trust all of you to not have terrible outfits." Dream breaker said with a light hearted laugh. "Berzerker, Kodiak, the two of you find somewhere to hide out for a long while. The rest of us will find supplies for the outfits and the hideout." She said, now having a slightly bigger smile.

Oliver of course knew simple outfits were not a must at the moment, but who was he to speak at all? It's not like he really wanted to anyway.

"How are we leaving here?" Asked the Norse brute in the back of the room. The room was lacking any window, so if a wall was to be broken down, it's possible that they could've broken into the security office.

"Through the roof?" replied Oliver, now saying more than he did all of last month.

Dream Breaker, who was adjusting her copper red hair, nodded her head. "That's not a bad idea, although that is assuming that this is the last level in a possibly multi-layered building. But…" She said, looking back to Oliver. "We don't have too much time before they come back to change our IV bags. Berzerk, break a small hole in the wall. Oliver will crawl through and see where exactly we are." Crossing her arms, she piped up again. "Wait… the two of you must do this quietly. We don't need the doctors or orderlies or whatever to alert aussie and his team."

"That's asking a lot of him.." Palate said sarcastically, looking to her twin brother. "And how exactly can you expect one to break a portion of wall silently?"

Kodiak, who was now examining the IV equipment, spoke next. "We could just bust down the wall, and sprint out of here. Hide, then we could figure out the outfits.. Speaking of.. What the hell kind of villain name is Oliver?"

"Believe me, I've told him." Palate said softly, sitting on the bed with her legs curled up. In her mind, a perfectly reasonable street name would be that of their father, although Oliver lacked his charisma, and obviously his experience.

"Run 'n' gun doesn't sound like too bad of an idea." Berzerker said, whist he was doing a round of rather aggressive push ups to build his momentum. "Come on, I want my helmet."

"All I need to do is charge one direction and we're free." The husky Kodiak said shortly after, already imagining his costume design. Hopefully the little skinny kid was good at making clothing. To him, this marked the end of his education, and most likely his relationship with HIVE. Well, maybe not HIVE, but his contact with Jinx at least.

"I don take it that you're planning on tellin' my friends what you heard from the robot." Flash Jack said as he leaned to the bars of his confinement.

"Sod off." Said the withered old man. "Do I look like your damn grandparents?" He said, his bruised body resting on the thin mattress of the jail cell. "You broke my glasses as well.. I guess it comes with where you're from."

"Shut up."

"English subjects tend to be a tad uncivilized. That's always been true."

For the Titans, it's been a long two days after that. The HIVE recruits escaped from their 'inescapable' confinement, Rose's reaction to this was sluggish and minimal. In fact, the only times that the Titans would even leave the tower would be to rescue citizens from fires and such. Since Flash Jack was dubbed unfit for duty, He was kept in the holding cell wing of the tower, along with Mad Mod, who had been arguing with the former leader for several hours in the day. Rose still allowed no visitors to Flash Jack, and this detail is what made the other Titans suspicious. At this point, they almost trusted Jinx as much if not more than Rose, as Jinx had made no attempt at escape, and had helped in the few emergencies that the Titans were dispatched to. Perhaps being a Titan changes the individual? Everyone's changed so some degree. Flash Jack apparently went insane after meeting Mad Mod, Rose seemed to lose her motivation, Snake Charmer is taking more risks, Rue is actually putting her two cents into discussions, and Dawnfire is finally adapting to human culture.

It was one of the few instances of silence in the cells when Dawnfire entered the room. Flash Jack of course perked up, and figuratively slammed his body into the cell's bars. "Dawn!"

"Hello." She said, calmly walking to Flash Jack's cell. "Rose told me not to come, but I have missed you." She said with a soft smile.

"Is everyone alright?" He asked, looking to his left to make sure the Brit was still sleeping.

"Everyone expect Rose misses you. Even Jinx had expressed desire to see you."

"Except." Flash Jack said calmly. "It's Except rather 'an expect."

"I am sorry prisoner. My english is still not perfect, as I have taught it to myself." She said with a half smile.

"It's better than when we have first met." He said leaning into the bars. This was true, as she was much more adept at using synonyms and other english language quirks.

"My thanks to you." She said with a now full smile. Her thick red hair was now in small curls. She was still trying to find the best look for American culture, but she doesn't really have anyone to ask when it came to that.

"There is something you must know." Flash Jack whispered, leaning farther to the bars. "I don't expect you to believe me, but Rose is Zulu, and-"

"This Zulu does not exist. He is not here."

"Let me finish. Keep that in your mind, and see if it's plausible." He replied quickly, his newly formed whisper changing to a soft voice.

"I do not believe you are mentally ill, but you are imagining things that are not there." She said, with a small sigh. "Rose has changed, but she is not what you say she is." Looking back to the door, she frowned.

"Check Rose's body. If everythin' is normal, you may ignore me."

"Fine. But I Shall do nothing more." She said, having to pause to decipher through Flash Jack's madness. Leaving the room, she sighed once again. Surely Flash Jack wanted Rose to be Zulu.

She left the room, with a frown on her face and frustration in her mind. The tower needed him to be battle ready, not mentally unable. The recruits escaped, and now they've gone silent. No doubt they either are waiting for Jinx's orders, or they have refused her and gone on their own orders.

She eventually found her way to Rose's room, only passing by Rue on the way. Her greyish green eyes scanned the door before she gently knocked on it. Of course, there was no answer, and without an answer, she would have no access to the room, and Rose's room. With a small grunt, she crossed her arms. Of course, she could easily call upon her alien strength to make her own door, but when Flash Jack would be proven wrong, This would prove to Rose that Dawnfire had disobeyed her.

The next couple of minutes was rather strange for Rue, as being found and shuffled to Rose's room by Dawnfire was less than expected. Dawnfire seemed more annoyed than upset, but she still spoke quickly. "Use the computer to open the door." She said, looking down the hall for Rose.

"Dawnfire?..." Rue asked, looking to the metal door. "I can't open this."

"Sing a song!" Dawnfire said, a little bit louder than she had wanted to. "Sing a song to open the door." She said, in a calmer tone. She wanted to get this done and over with, just to convince herself that Flash Jack is wrong, and that Rose's body would be there, and it would still be alive and connected to Rose's robot form.

"Not until you tell me why." Rue said quickly after. "I am not opening the door unless you give me a good reason."

"Flash Jack-"

"You talked to him?"

"He told me to check on Rose's body."

"He's not in charge." Rue said.

"And Rose has changed. If something is wrong, we will find it here."

 **RACCO-... RAGDOLL'S NOTE:**

 _Hello my followers! And hi to those who had read the whole series up to now without liking or following this story! Yes, after a long debate with myself, I have renamed myself to Ragdoll, arguably the most likable villain in the 2004 Batman animated series (Real talk, their incarnation of the Penguin was a tad… crap.). As always, as far as reviews and story suggestions go, pile them on. They are always needed. Always. Come on please, I need them._

 _As far as my writing goes, It's really up in the air. I have discontinued the other story, as I had hit a brick wall and this story means so much more to me. I hope that all of you would understand, as I have plenty of work to do._

 _Oh and by the way, I do have plenty of ideas for other stories that are a tad more manageable, so perhaps if I'm feeling uninspired I could grind a chapter out for that. I don't know. We'll see._

 _Cheers! -Ragdoll_


	23. CH14- Loss

The door opened, and the two Titans walked into Rose's domain. At first Rose's body seemed normal for a body in a permanent coma. That was until Dawnfire watched for breathing, and after a while of close observation, she determined that there was in fact no breathing to be noticed.

At first, Dawnfire had to assume that this body behavior had to be normal of a human. Surely humans had no need to breathe whilst sleeping. But this assumption was soon thwarted by Rue's observation that Rose's body is empty and lifeless.

"She's gone." Rue said as she looked down at the still corpse, Her face somewhat normalized.

"He is… Correct.." Dawnfire muttered, looking to all the now disconnected medical equipment. "Flash Jack told me that Rose would be expired.."

"The robot is not Rose." Rue whispered, instinctively looking to the open door at the other end of the room. "We need to contact the central tower."

"We must free Flash Jack." Dawnfire said, louder than she had meant to. "Zulu is Rose."

Flash Jack had been blessed with silence from his fellow prisoner, so he took this time to have a blissful sleep on top of the cold, stiff mattress. He did not expect Dawnfire to do as he requested, so he was quite surprised when the two Titans barged into the room.

He had a smug smile as he quickly stood up. "I take it you discovered Somethin'?"

Rue had missed him, and she among others thought the treatment of Flash Jack was rushed and strange, but the situation seemed to fit. She could agree that his state of mind was not perfect, but she was still disappointed in herself for not having any faith in the former leader. "She's dead." Rue said.

"I know." he said, walking to the front of the cell. "We need to kill the robot, Dawn, would you kindly let me out?"

Dawnfire quickly parted two of the bars away from one another, making a hole just large enough for Flash Jack to exit out of. "I am sorry that I let this happen." Dawnfire said as Flash Jack crawled out of the cell.

"I wouldn't'a believed me either." He admitted as he reached the locker at the end of the room, where he retrieved his loved equipment. "Does Snake Charma' know?"

"No. He's alone with Rose's body." Rue said as she looked out the hallway for any incoming danger. "I'm not even sure that Ro-.. Zulu knows that his lie is exposed."

Zulu instantly knew as soon as the door opened that his cover was blown, He would have only a few moments before the Titans would wise up and get enough sense to find him and eliminate him. He had plugged his own consciousness into this body, so if he were to get disconnected, his original body may just go brain dead. All this, to impress Flash Jack. The tall man dressed as a thick scarecrow was in the room with him, but he knew that small snakes would be harmless against his robot body, but the man himself, was a real danger. Not a large danger, but a very real one. Zulu would have to act quickly, so he prepared a spike in the robot's right arm. The long metal arm folded and transformed into a long, sharp spike. The spike then injected into the back of Snake Charmer's head. It was swift, and almost silent.

Snake Charmer's body quickly crumpled to the floor, no sound escaping from his mouth. The last thing that he was doing was washing dishes, obviously not a prefered end to a hopeful hero. For a while Zulu stood over the misshapen, deformed body. As Snake Charmer was part reptile, his body twitched on the floor, his arms and legs not yet knowing that the body was dead. Zulu had no remorse for his latest kill, as the two late Titans only stood in the way of Flash Jack's attention, as did the two remaining Titans. He of course, had forgotten about Jinx. She heard the ruckus, and she quickly retreated to the basement. If she were to act, it may look bad to the other Titans. As far as she knew, the robot killed the snake man with no provocation, therefore she did not see the point of being near, or even in a position to help. She did not think the world would miss these incompetent Titans.

"Rush in, destroy the body." Flash Jack said, sliding the clip into his firearm. "If Snake Charma' gets in the way, knock 'im out."

Dawnfire nodded as she quickly flew down the fireman's pole, to be followed by Flash Jack, and finally Rue. Dawnfire had a silent reaction when she had witnessed the dead body of Snake Charmer, and her first instinct was to step forward to evaluate the threat, but this situation was different. She was confined to the small area of the living area of the tower. She couldn't smash the threat without risking the entire building. She took a few steps forward, and before her two comrades could reach her level, the lights all went out, and the shutters that were made to protect the windows shut, plunging the three into darkness.

With some use of her powers, Jinx broke a lock to a storage locker, and quickly hid inside. She gave a little yelp when the lights shut out. She was not one to be overly scared, but this situation was something that she was not used to. Feeling helpless. She knew that throwing a hex at the robot would at least incapacitate it, but being left in the dark, she knew that the robot would have no trouble silently tracking her somehow. She knew enough about it to know that it was capable. As much as she wanted to destroy the walking monster, she knew that she would have to plan her next actions very carefully. She just told herself that she won't use her power because it will look bad, but the truth was, she just can't use it. When she was in a state of panic, she couldn't control what the hex would do. It could do plenty of adverse things. Including burying herself, the robot, and the others in a pile of rubble. Her incompetent students would surely be dead by now if put in her situation, she was just a bad teacher. She faintly heard the metallic footsteps of the robot, and as soon as she thought to hold her breath, the locker door opened.

Flash Jack was the first to see the dead, disfigured body on the floor after Dawnfire. When he shined the light attached to his rifle on the corpse, he saw that Snake Charmer's black robes were crumpled and somewhat astray, revealing sections of his reptilian skin. Rue was the next to see it, which lead her to release a small gasp in the wake of the horrid discovery. The three remaining Titans knew three things. Snake Charmer and Rose are dead, Jinx is probably being killed right now, and that Jinx could be the only one suited to lead this tower.

The new HIVE recruits stood together. They had been spending quite a bit of time bouncing between abandoned buildings in search of a home. Along the way, they had found a few clothing stores needed to compose their outfits. The outfits had a bit of a psychology to them. Now, without Jinx to tell them not to, they could activate their outwards personality. Berzerker opted for the traditional viking outfit (Made from designer fur coats and scraps of metal.), along with a metal helmet that was looted from the local live action roleplay store.

Dream Breaker, the unanimous leader of the HIVE detachment, chose something more simple. A black dress with matching shoes. Someday, she would barely need to run, as she was growing stronger in her ability every day. She would eventually be able to possess people constantly, moving forward, and leaving a chain of sleeping bodies behind her.

Kodiak needed help with getting an idea. There's no real outfit that he could think of that said; "Oh hey I'm going to turn into a giant bear and eat you whole." Nothing the others suggested to him had any sort of weight in his mind, so he settled for the same black HIVE recruit uniform. He wouldn't spend too much time in human form anyway. However, he did cut a few sections of it, to artificially tatter his recruit uniform. It was at least more original than Oliver's outfit, as he just chose a ninja costume from a costume store.

Palate had spent the most time working on hers, as artists tend to pay such attention to detail. Her outfit, itself would be a painting. A complete clean white outfit is what she started with. Then, with the use of the most expensive oil based paints she could find, made a kind of abstract design on the whole thing. Seeing it after the process, it would be hard to say that it was even white to begin with. Brilliant streaks of olive, bright blue, and mustard yellow dominated the front, with the pant legs having some stripes of purple, pink, and black. A kind nod to Jinx. Several other patterns dominated her clothing, all random, but the patterns somehow seemed to compliment one another.

Their current hideout was the now abandoned meat packing facility where Kodiak had lost to the snake man Titan. Nothing was quite moved in, and nothing here made it seem like any kind of home, for everyone but Kodiak anyway. The air tasted bitter, and the stench of rotten meat filled the nostrils of anyone near. A new hideout was needed. Something more comfortable. Something more permanent.

"What about the Titan Tower? We can take them by now." Berzerker suggested, as he spent some time kicking stray bones into a pile into the corner of the main floor of the facility.

"If we could do that.. We can prove to HIVE that we don't need Jinx.." Dream Breaker mumbled. "The tower will be ours, and then we will own the city… We'll do what the Jump City Three never could. We'll kill the Titans."

 **RAGDOLL'S NOTE:**

 _So, I must say, I've been quite busy, but don't you think for even a second that I would forget about such a story, especially with the lot of you that will surely write a review, and favorite and follow me and this story!_


	24. CH15- The End

Of course the HIVE members in the abandoned meat packing facility did not know of such a thing, but suddenly the power to the whole city had been cut off. It was so quick and sudden, it's almost as if someone had just flipped a switch, shutting down the entire Sylvester City power grid. From what the officials could tell upon further investigation, somehow a virus was planted directly into a section of the unified power line. Such a thing has never been observed until now. Of course, the city needed help with the chaos, but none of the Titans were anywhere to be seen.

As the HIVE team planned their assault on the tower, riots sprouted up across the city, just a mere hour after the outage. Usually a power outage would not invoke such a response, but the people were mainly upset at the lack of help from the Titans. The application of a city wide income tax for a tower and some heroes, all for this lack of action. Of course, the income tax did not need to be anything more than tiny, but the city council took this as a chance to make it higher than necessary. The amount required went to the tower, whist the other 63.1% went toward the city deficit. Of course, very few citizens knew that most of the 'Titan tax' went to the city.

About an hour and a half after the power outage, the HIVE team finally started their invasion. They noticed the riots, what better of a way to kill the Titans when they know they've failed their city? On a normal day a power outage would be the perfect day to raise Hell in the city, but this task must be done. Standing outside the tower, the five saw that it was dark, and additionally closed. The viking and the bear could easily make a hole in any given part of the tower, but was such a way the best way? Since the power outage seemed to effect the tower, it was not too far of a stretch to assume that the defences were down as well. They knew the power outage was not due to an EMP, so it's safe to assume the robot is still walking about the tower… For the moment anyway. The five eventually decided that a large hole right through the front door is what is needed. All that was needed was a few minutes of Kodiak slamming against the door for a sizeable hole to emerge. But, what was inside was not expected. Turning back to human form, he gave his comrades a chance to see the carnage. The snake man was on the ground, not moving. The viking lady and the song girl were strewn across the ground, still breathing. The robot was in pieces on the ground, with the marksman kneeling over the head, savagely hacking it with his hatchet. Jinx, their former teacher, was also on the ground in the back of the lobby room. Upon closer inspection by Palate, she saw that Jinx was barely breathing, with marks all along her fair throat.

With the last remaining Titan looking up to see that he is surrounded, he quickly scrambled for his rifle. Checking his belt, he had felt that he only had two clips left. One for expanding foam rounds, the other were reduced powder rounds. The HIVE members made no movement, almost acting like hunters stumbling across an already dying deer.

Dream Breaker was the first to speak. "This kind of takes the sport out of it." She said as she stood over the worn Titan. "There's only three of you left, and it does not look like you have the means of leaving." She said, noting that all the windows had been covered with metal. It must of been the security lockdown. "Palate, his leg." She said, which then caused a sudden streak of grey to fly across the room, and in the same moment, a roar from the marksman. The blob of grey had hit him in the calf, effectively breaking his fibula.

Flash Jack wanted to hold his leg, but this is not what he needed. Darting his hand to the reduced powder clip, Dream Breaker quickly kicked it from his hand. "Nah nah nah." She said, waving her finger a little. She then looked to the two Titans who were unconscious on the ground. With a grin, she stepped towards Rue's body. "With a voice like this, I could bury you in this tower." She said, gesturing to the four other HIVE members, who then piled out from the building, with Kodiak holding Jinx over her shoulder. Leaving her, and the marksman with useless bullets alone in the tower. Dream Breaker vanished, and then Rue's body slowly stood up. It was Rue's voice that spoke to Flash Jack.

"It's a shame. I wanted this tower for myself, but this situation is too perfect for me." She said, from Rue. Flash Jack did not fully care what happened to him or the tower. He was more concerned about Dawnfire, who would surely die if the weight of the entire tower was on her. He was the most concerned about Rue, and the destruction that could be done. Whist Dream breaker was circling him like a wolf, Flash Jack carefully unhooked the last clip from his belt.

"Do you really imagine that bullets will harm me? This is not my body, I can't feel its pain." She said, watching as the rifle was being aimed at her head. "Face it, you've lost, and now you and the-"

The bullet fired, and entered Rue's mouth. As soon as the bullet made contact with Rue's frontmost tooth, the metal split, and a tan foam rapidly expanded out. The hard, resilient foam filled her mouth, and her nostrils. He forced himself to look away as Dream Breaker desperately struggled to clear the airway. With a thud, Rue died, and Dream Breaker simply ceased to exist.

Flash Jack laid there on the ground, now looking to the still body of Rue. Clamping his eyes shut, he cried. He refused to sob, but he cried. Eventually the others had to come back to check on the red haired woman who had possessed Rue, so gritting his teeth, he had to be humble. Grabbing his communicator, he pushed the red SOS button. This was his final choice. Being injured, and being the only conscious one out of the two currently living Titans, when four HIVE members were just mere yards away. Crawling over to Dawnfire, he tried shaking her awake. Nothing. Not even a stir. With a groan, he thought of something. The electric prod attached to his boot. It may work, but the leg the boot belonged to happened to be broken. He looked to Rose's former head to check for activity, before be was able to even lean up to take his boot off, the head clicked awake.

"Sod off…" He grumbled, gritting his teeth and kicking Dawnfire with his broken foot. He let out a pained whimper as he watched Dawnfire spasm a bit. "Come on.. Wake up.." He said, watching as Rose's head whirred and buzzed. Would it explode? What else would it do. If it fully deactivated, hopefully Zulu's body would go brain dead. But what would the head do?

Dawnfire finally shook awake from the cruel electric shock. The last thing she remembered was being slammed into a wall after being thrown by Rose's body. With hope in Flash Jack's eyes, he leaned up and shouted: "Get us outta 'ere!"

Dawnfire trusted him, so he grabbed him by the arm, and Rue's body by the leg, and after a quick scan for Jinx, she flew through the hole at the entrance, passed by the four confused villains, and eventually set down at a park, a fair distance from the tower. As Flash Jack was rested on the ground, Dawnfire saw that Rue was limp and dead. She did not need to be told. She is dead. It took her only a little bit of time to put it together. Somehow, Rue and the others are dead, because of Rose's passing, and somehow HIVE was involved.

She cried softly at the loss of Rue. Her being alive one second and then passed when she woke up an instant later. She did not even care about how it happened. Flash Jack cried too. The two laid there in the grass, protesting citizens watching from a few yards away. Dawnfire, soon hugged her only friend in the world, and he hugged his only friend in the world. It was only then that they saw a little bit of hope. They saw a few streaks in the sky, of what looked like flying people zooming to the tower. The SOS call of course. With a heavy sigh, all the stress and anxiety that filled Dawnfire and Flash Jack was quickly replaced with sadness over their fallen comrades. Laying on the grass, they both looked up to the sky, and waited for some form of contact.

When all the pieces were picked up, Jinx was hastily put in command of the Sylvester city tower, with Dawnfire and Flash Jack as the only two Titans. The city offered counselling to the originals, which was kindly refused. Redstar easily rounded up the four criminals, where they were soon put in the Titan run prison somewhere in rural Canada. Titans were still desperately needed to staff these facilities, but since the situation with the northern tower was resolved, time could be taken for the application and training process. The Titans eventually filled their ranks, organized, and made a point to establish full independence from the Justice League.

Snake Charmer, Rue, and Rose were the first Titans to die whist in duty. Sylvester City volunteered to build a memorial to every fallen Titan, which is the form of three statues by the main police station. In Jump City, another memorial was built for the Titans, but only for the access of the Titans. There were now three statues. Snake Charmer with a few snakes around his arm, Rose with a marble form of her robotic body, and Finally Rue, with her mouth wide open to sing, a happy and optimistic look forever on her face.

 **The End.**


End file.
